


Chloe Sullivan and the Slytherin Princes

by shadowglove88



Series: Fidelius Series [4]
Category: Harry Potter - Fandom, Smallville
Genre: Acromantulas, Chloe pretends to be Pansy, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Hogwarts, Infiltrating Hogwarts, Kissing, Polyjuice Potion, Secret Identity, The Marauder's Map
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 08:21:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 31,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15837432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowglove88/pseuds/shadowglove88
Summary: When Chloe is sent to Hogwarts so that she can learn under Severus' tutelage, she puts Bellatrix's lessons to use as she pretends to be Pansy Parkinson and brokers a deal with Draco Malfoy. If she has to pretend to be his girlfriend and make out with him a lot to keep up appearances for all those watching, well, she's ready to make sacrifices in the name of first class education.





	1. Chapter 1

"What do you think we should do about those first year Gryffindors?" Daphne asked, leaning closer to her. "They disrespected us and can't be left to get away with that."

"Something bad has to happen to them," Millicent declared from her other side.

Chloe took a moment to formulate an answer as she gazed at Pansy Parkinson's two minions. When she'd been told that she'd 'graduated' from Bellatrix's studies and that she would now go to Snape's tutelage, which would only be possible by Polyjuicing into one of the students already attending Hogwarts, she'd taken the few hours she'd had with Pansy Parkinson to truly interrogate her. She didn't only want to know what the girl would do in certain circumstances but  _why_  she did it. She wanted to get into the girl's head, to understand the way her mind worked and her ambitions, the things that drove her to be the way she was or do the things she did. She learnt how Pansy held some power over the female Slytherins because power was greatness and should she want to have a good match in the future she had to prove a leader in her own right, and Pansy apparently had her eye on the Malfoy name.

That in itself amused Chloe, as she couldn't imagine  _why_  anyone would want to marry Draco. He wasn't the most likable of characters, and he had so many flaws, and he couldn't even see them! Then again, his attitude was probably one of the things she liked about him, so she figured she shouldn't comment or even have an opinion in the matter. It wasn't as if she'd ever marry him anyway. The Dark Lord had made that abundantly clear.

"We need to hex them," Daphne continued. "They need to learn to respect their betters!"

"One of them was a mudblood." Millicent's lips pulled back in an ugly smile. "We should make an example of him."

Once again they both turned to Chloe, who they thought was Pansy, awaiting her input on the matter.

"I don't think we should do anything," Chloe replied after a moment, seeing the way the girls' eyes widened in horror. "We don't want more House Points deducted from us. You know the whole faculty except for Professor Snape are biased against us." She leaned forwards and smirked. "But if an  _accident_  were to happen..."

The smiles slowly returned to their faces.

"What do you have planned?" Daphne whispered.

"How long will they be in the Infirmary?" Millicent chuckled.

"Give me a couple of days to figure it out. When days pass and nothing happens they'll lower their guard and people will forget about what happened... which will make us seem less suspicious whenever it does." It also gave her time to try and get used to this body, to the Polyjuice Potion she had to take to keep this form, and she could also get into the routine of Pansy Parkinson. She'd been in this body for three days now and was shocked that no one had seemed to realize just how disoriented she was when it came to going to classes. She'd just followed Daphne and Millicent around, using them as guides, and let them happily prattle away, the two filling her in on everyone and how much they despised them. It was probably due to the fact that neither of them ever stopped to breathe that Chloe figured no one really noticed her own awkward silence, and she was able to absorb much information from their prattle.

So far during the classes she hadn't been called upon to do anything with Parkinson's wand, and if for some reason one of the teachers tried to make her do something other than brewing potions, well, that was a part of this whole learning experience, wasn't it? She was supposed to learn how to mingle successfully in a certain group without calling attention to herself, to successfully pull off being someone else despite not having their abilities. And she was just going to have to find a way around her inability to use magic or a wand.

While having mastered the potions part, Lana had failed this half of the mission, apparently having been discovered by Draco and Zabini. She'd raised too many eyebrows at her behavior, and Chloe was a little worried for the girl now under Bellatrix's tutelage, but she couldn't really concentrate on her or Lois-whom Lucius had had to keep on longer (to his chagrin) because she too had failed her training. Despite this he was sure he and his wife were making progress. He was also sure that if they kept Lois 'just a little longer' that they could make a Pureblood Lady out of her.

"This will be so good," Millicent chuckled.

Daphne smirked at her. "It's so good to have you back Millie. You had us so scared for a while there. Right Pansy?"

"Right." Chloe had heard the rumors about Millicent's 'odd' behavior, and Pansy had told her all about how freaky she'd been... Although now that she herself was about to be 'substituted' she'd declared that it made sense. "I mean...  _jogging_. Come on Millie. That's not healthy."

Millicent blushed, lowering her gaze. "I honestly don't know what I was doing."

"Clearly." Daphne sneered.

No one seemed to suspect that a memory altering charm had been placed on Millicent so she would forget the fact that she'd been substituted by someone else.

Sensing movement, Chloe turned to see Draco enter the Slytherin dungeons, his robes billowing behind him as he stalked to what she'd deemed the Malfoy Throne, since no one else dared to sit on it. He threw himself down and stared at the fire as a muscle jumped in his cheek. He appeared paler than usual, and more annoyed. These last couple of days she'd realized that Draco Malfoy wasn't only a miserable bully to the other Houses, but he was quite the prat to his own House as well and more than a couple of the Slytherins were scared of him. The other half idolized him. Then again, most of those scared of him sort of worshiped him too.

She wasn't going to ever understand the Slytherin mentality.

The scariest person was apparently the one everyone else looked up to as a leader.

Then again, now that she thought about it, wasn't the whole Death Eater thing the same? They all looked up to the scariest one as their leader.

She shook her head, scolding herself for that thought.

The Dark Lord mightn't look normal but he'd done so much for her...

"You'll get him eventually Pansy," Millicent announced, gaze going to Draco. "Don't worry. You're the only girl who is worthy of him."

Daphne made a face.

"Got something to say to that, Daph?" Chloe raised an eyebrow, recalling Pansy's declaration that Daphne had an 'illogical' belief that she could be Malfoy material, and Pansy had declared that it was her duty to remind the girl where her place was.

"Of course not," Daphne mumbled.

Millicent sneered, obviously enjoying seeing Daphne 'put in her place'.

Chloe gazed at the two girls and shook her head, realizing that these three really weren't friends at all.

Pansy was the Alpha female. Daphne wanted the power but would never have the guts to actually do anything about it so she got as much as she could as a minion. Millicent didn't want the power of leadership, what she wanted was the protection and privileges associating herself with the right people gave her.

The blonde felt really sad for this trio.

They'd never be happy if they continued like this.

Draco must have felt the attention on him because his icy blues met Chloe's and he sneered at her. "What do you want, Parkinson?"

"Other than a proposal?" She asked flippantly before she could even stop herself.

There was silence in the Slytherin room as everyone turned to look at her in shock.

Draco narrowed his eyes on her. "Excuse me?"

Chloe was about to retract that and save face when she noticed the smirk on Daphne's face.

The blonde in a brunette's body raised her chin and stared those blue eyes down. "When are you going to stop writing to that stupid mystery girl of yours and actually pay attention to a real flesh and blood girl?" She'd heard Pansy rant about this and tried to put resentment into her voice. "And what's with the secrecy? People are beginning to ask questions Draco." She smirked, eyebrow raising. "She wouldn't be a  _mudblood_  would she?" She chuckled. "She wouldn't be  _Granger_  would she?"

In seconds Draco had pulled out his wand and stood in a fluid motion, wand aimed at her dangerously.

She gulped back the sliver of fear and stood, pulling out Pansy's wand although she knew that the most she could do with the piece of stick was hit Draco with it.

"I'd tread carefully if I were you Parkinson," Draco snarled, looking quite dangerous.

"Did I hit a nerve, Draco?" Chloe tried her best to look amused despite her nervousness. She didn't need to get into a duel now, especially considering that it would be incredibly one-sided.

Draco snarled and sent a curse towards her.

Chloe barely managed to dodge it and grabbed the closest thing to her she could, flinging it back at Draco.

The corner of the hardcover book hit Draco square in the face.

Chloe's eyes widened, the girl just as shocked as the rest of the House of Slytherin as Draco cradled his face and snarled, cursing.

She gulped.

She was  _so dead_.

Draco, nose bleeding, sent another curse flying her way and Chloe ducked behind the sofa, eyes widening when one of the cushions exploded.

Whoa.

No one tried to help.

No one looked like they even cared to help.

Millicent and Daphne were frozen.

Zabini sat in his corner reading a book.

Theo, who had no idea that she was there as Pansy, was doodling in the air in front of him in a bored fashion with his wand.

She shook her head at them.

She was  _never_  going to get Slytherins.

The entrance to the dungeons opened and Snape paused, eyeing the destruction and Draco's bleeding nose, before giving a little put-upon sigh. "Mr. Malfoy, go see the Medi-Witch." His gaze narrowed on Chloe. "As for  _you_  Ms. Parkinson, you will be serving detention with me. Starting now." With that he turned and left.

Draco sneered at her before leaving to go to the Infirmary.

"I can't believe you  _did_  that!" Millicent whispered fiercely. "It was so stupid!" She blinked. "And yet kind of awesome."

"You have  _no_  chance of becoming Mrs. Malfoy now." Daphne was obviously doing her best to keep from smiling about that.

"Oh Daph, don't get your hopes up." Chloe stood and straightened her robes, sending the other girl a condescending smile. "Do you  _really_  think the Malfoys would align themselves with your family given your... lineage."

Suddenly the other students were paying attention once more as blood purity was questioned.

Daphne went pale, horrified. "There's nothing wrong with my lineage! It's pure!"

"Of course it is." Chloe patted her cheek with mock tenderness before leaving the Slytherin dungeons, heading towards Snape's rooms for 'detention'. She wondered how long they could drag these detentions out so that no one would notice that she spent her free time with him anyway. Pansy was going to have to have more of a backbone and get into trouble if she was going to basically live in detention as needed so Chloe could carry out her potions studies.

She paused, feeling watched, and turned to look around.

She was alone in the halls... but the feeling of being watched was intense.

There was no way that she was only imagining it.

"Hello?" She called into the empty hall behind her. "Is anyone there?"

Nothing.

Silence.

Shaking her head, Chloe took in a deep breath as she continued forwards in time for the hall to  _shake_.

She froze, looking around her.

What the hell?

Suddenly a couple of first years (three of them were the Gryffindors she was supposed to be planning revenge against), raced down the hall towards her screaming.

"What-?" Chloe's eyes widened as behind them giant  _spiders_  came into view. "Oh my god." She looked around her before she dashed towards the first door and found it locked. She cursed and raced to the second, finding it locked as well. Terror filled her as she went from door to door, trying the locks. She needed an open door! She needed a place where they could hide! In her search the frantic blonde stumbled across a door she hadn't noticed before and found the door unlocked. "Get in here!"

The eleven years olds cried as they raced into the room and Chloe joined them, closing the door behind her and locking it, pressing her back against it as suddenly one of the spiders began assaulting the door viciously trying to break it down.

The children screamed and cried.

"Someone use Lumos!" Chloe ordered, pressing her back against the door harder. "Now!"

The Ravenclaw did so, lighting up the large room they found themselves in.

"We're going to die!" One of the Gryffindors cried.

"No, we're not." Chloe assured the kid. "But I need help here. Look for things to chock up against this door. As long as they can't get in we're fine. There aren't any windows they could break through."

The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff and one of the Gryffindors nodded, searching through the surprisingly spacious supply room for things to use to block the door.

One of the Gryffindors just cried.

The other, the 'mudblood', gulped before going to Chloe's side and pushing against the door with her.

They stood side by side, pressing their backs against the door as it shook violently.

"Thanks for not leaving me out there," the kid whispered finally.

Chloe's gaze went to him in surprise. "Why would I do that?"

He looked up at her, equally surprised. "Because I'm a mud-because I-."

She wondered if he could see the horror she felt at his assumption. "I wouldn't leave you to get eaten by one of those monsters! You're just a kid!"

"But you're a Slytherin." He seemed so confused, and just as shocked as she was. "You think people like me should be dead."

"No, I don't." Chloe frowned.

"But-but You-Know-Who...he kills my kind," the boy whispered. "Don't all Slytherin's follow him?"

Chloe was unable to say anything as she looked down at the boy.

What could she say?

Voldemort-he didn't kill innocent children!

There-this-it was a war and sometimes there were innocents who got caught in the crossfire but she couldn't believe that he would be capable of killing a child like this one just because he didn't come from a magical background. There was no way that the same man who hadn't shunned her despite her inability to do magic would be capable of the evils this little kid thought he could. Obviously the people on this side of the war were telling everyone lies about Voldemort and making him out to be a monster-something which his visage would only support in the eyes of ignorant people.

"We found this." The kids returned pushing a table they'd found somewhere in the ridiculously large room, pushing the heavy thing up against the door.

The sounds of fighting and screaming could be heard on the other side of the door.

The kids huddled together, whimpering, terrified.

Chloe was somewhat scared herself, at least these pipsqueaks knew some basic magic to defend themselves with, or at least cause a distraction. She didn't have that on her side. She had to try and rely on her quick thinking and the resources she had at hand.

Something slammed against the door.

The little Hufflepuff girl screamed and hugged the Ravenclaw boy.

Chloe looked between the kids before leaning against the heavy table, adding more resistance to the door. "I'm going to do something right now that none of you kids can ever tell anyone about. Do you get that?"

The kids exchanged looks before nodding.

"Good." Chloe flinched when something rammed against the door and caused the table to slam into her back a little, but the door held. "First I need your names."

The kids hesitated before the little muggleborn Gryffindor spoke up. "Riley."

The other two Gryffindor boys joined in. "Christopher. Francis."

"I'm Donovan." The Ravenclaw boy mumbled. "And she's Priscilla."

"Good." Chloe needed to keep them distracted from the sounds of war outside. "First off all, who here knows some basic locking spells?"

Donovan raised his hand.

"Good boy." She smiled encouragingly, pushing away from the table. "Try some."

The Ravenclaw cleared his throat and drew his wand, casting the locking spells he knew. "There."

"Great." Chloe nodded before sitting up on the table once more. "Okay then, for the important part that no one must ever know of."

The kids gathered around, silent.

She gazed at them intently before speaking. "What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?"

The eleven-year-olds looked at her as if she was insane.

The blonde in a brunette's packaging smirked. "And I thought Ravenclaw was supposed to be so  _smart_."

Donovan took that as a challenge and began mumbling the riddle to himself. "Runs but doesn't walk, mouth but never talks, head but never weeps, bed but never sleeps."

"It's a riddle," Priscilla whispered to herself.

The Gryffindors sent Chloe a curious looks.

"It wouldn't be a mute ghost would it?" Donovan wanted to know.

Chloe smiled. "No, but that's an interesting guess."

Seeming encouraged by that, the Gryffindors became competitive, trying to figure out what it was.

"A Hippogriff!" Francis guessed.

Chloe shook her head. "Nope."

Something else slammed against the door. The movement shook the table and nearly sent Chloe flying off of it but she somehow managed to stay on.

Everyone's gaze went to the door.

Chloe turned her head to look behind her, breathing a little heavily, before she shook her head and turned towards the kids. "Come on now, you haven't answered the riddle."

She needed to keep them distracted.

The door, and the table beneath her, began to shake.

Chloe grabbed the edge of the table and held on as she kept her eyes on the kids. "C'mon, it's easy. Just think about it."

The shaking stopped.

The kids huddled closer.

There was silence outside.

Chloe pushed off from the table and turned towards the door, keeping the kids protectively behind her when the door handle began to rattle. "Stay behind me."

She felt Priscilla reach for her skirt and grab hold in fear.

Suddenly there was a pounding sound against the door.

Priscilla gave a cry.

"It's all right," Chloe whispered down to her, her own shaky hand brushing the girl's hair soothingly. "Whatever it is, it can't get in here."

"And if it does, we'll show it not to mess with us!" Riley raised his wand.

Donovan, Francis and Christopher agreed, raising their wands as well.

"Is there anyone in there?" Someone called.

"Oh thank god," Chloe whispered, racing towards the table and pulling it away from the door in time for it to open to show none other than the person she'd been avoiding these three days.

Harry Potter.

He stood, eyes narrowed on her. "Is everything okay in here?"

She nodded, not sure how Pansy would react in this situation. "Are the spider thingies dealt with?"

His gaze narrowed further. "Yes, the  _Acromantulas_  have been taken care of and are no longer a threat."

"Good." She cleared her throat, awkward in her ignorance of how to handle the situation. So in lieu of something to say she brushed past Harry Potter, shivering as her shoulder touched the shoulder of the boy leader who would have her, Lois and Lana killed if he only knew... Images raced through her mind and she hissed as she brought a hand to her forehead. They were too quick for her to see anything, to make anything out. And then the images, and the pain, were gone.

Shaking her head, Chloe brought her hand from her forehead and surveyed the damage and destruction left behind in the wake of the battle with the spider things. She hugged herself and ignored Potter and the First Years as she made her way towards Severus' chambers for her fourth Potions lesson. It shook her to realize just how close she'd come to death and how powerless she'd been to do protect herself. That just wouldn't do. She needed to talk to Severus about this. He needed to see that an exception had to be made due to her inability to use magic.

She needed an ally within Hogwarts other than him.

She needed a  _student_  who knew about her and who could help, not only protect her, but  _assist_  her.

Determined, she walked on towards Serverus' private chambers.


	2. Chapter 2

"They're saying Lord Voldemort was behind the spider thingies attacking the school last night." Chloe still wasn't able to believe that as she paced Severus' chambers the next day, the potion she'd been making simmering, her nervous energy keeping her from actually sitting down and waiting. "It's utterly ridiculous. Deplorable.  _Slander_. Defamation! He wouldn't do something like that. He wants Hogwarts, he wouldn't do anything to endanger it or its students." She was annoyed that Severus merely remained in his seat and didn't contribute anything to her tirade. "And even if for some reason he found it necessary to do something like that he would not have done it while  _I_  was in Hogwarts!"

Severus finally looked up from his texts. "It is true that he would be most... displeased... if something were to happen to you."

"See!" Chloe threw her hands in the air as she continued to pace. "He couldn't possibly be behind last night's attack! I bet you anything it's that damned Potter and his people doing it so that they can save the day and make people think that they're the heroes while we're the villains!" She turned to Severus and slammed her hands down on his desk. "Can you believe that that first year Gryffindor thought I'd leave him to be eaten by those mutated spiders just because he's a muggleborn? I would never-! These Order people have everyone thinking that we are  _monsters_  that kill  _children_  for crissake!  _Children_!"

Severus watched her in that silent, intent way of his that made her wonder sometimes if he wasn't evaluating her soul.

"The little muggleborn Gryffindor  _thanked_  me for not leaving him to be eaten, Severus! Thanked me!" She collapsed onto her seat, feeling so tired. "We're not monsters. Why can't they see that?"

"Your potion, Miss Greengrass."

She jolted up and hurried to her cauldron, pulling it off of the fire and smiling as she gazed down at the bubbling liquid, taking a whiff of it. "It's ready."

Severus stood, his every movement always liquid, precise, calculated. He made his way to her side and gazed down critically at the potion before taking in a whiff, raising an eyebrow. "The color is slightly off but it smells about right."

She grinned up at him. "What do you smell?"

He raised an eyebrow. "That is none of your concern."

"When am I going to need to know how to make this modified version of the Amortentia potion?" Chloe frowned as she gazed down at the liquid. "Is this somehow related to my mission at the end of this semester? My 'exam' if you may.?

He raised an eyebrow. "You've only just successfully completed one exam. One wouldn't think you'd be so  _eager_  for another."

"I'm not eager. I'm curious. There's a difference Severus," she pointed out. "And you know that I never would have passed that test if I hadn't had Theodore there with me. The boy was brilliant. If he hadn't been so quick thinking and able-wanded I would have failed that test for sure."

"I wouldn't be too quick to praise Mr. Nott's performance so faithfully, as it  _was_  you who did the most important parts." Severus surprised her with the compliment, even if it was dished out in his dour way. "For being completely without magic you managed to accomplish more than half of what these young 'potentials' would have. If the spell placed on your magic hadn't been faulty and left you with that defect you wouldn't have needed Mr. Nott at all."

She sighed, pulling a strand behind her ear. "But I  _am_  defective, Severus, and while I more than make up for most things with my mind there are just some things a cunning plan can't do. I'm only lucky that there was that locked room otherwise I'd be dead right now. Those spider things would have had me for dinner."

Severus nodded. "I do see your point."

"I need someone within Slytherin as an ally, not just you. People will begin to wonder if I keep going to you. Pansy never liked you, not that she liked anyone but herself or Draco... but if I'm to realistically portray her..."

"I see your point," he repeated.

"So?" Chloe made a face. "Did you speak to Him last night about it? May I have a confidant here in Hogwarts?"

Severus waited a moment before folding his arms over his chest. "He had an interesting answer to that dilemma."

"What?" Chloe leaned forwards.

"He believes that the Order might have a suspicion that you are here and as such last night was an attempt of theirs...though he isn't sure what exactly their intention was," Severus mumbled, monotone. "And as you so expressed earlier, your safety is of the essence. If it wasn't for the fact that you are learning skills now that are of importance he would have taken you from here already. He wouldn't have allowed you to leave his side."

Chloe nodded, having known that.

His dark gaze went to the potion. "What do  _you_  smell?"

Confused by the change in subject, Chloe gave the potion a cautious whiff. "Different things."

"Amuse me." He folded his arms over his chest.

"Uhm... well... there's a papery scent, like that of parchment I guess, and there's a hint of a soapy scent too." She made up her face as she took another sniff, trying to figure out what the third scent was and why it seemed so familiar. "I can't make out what the third is. I know I've smelt it before but I don't know where." She looked up at him. "Why?"

"The color is slightly off, it's important to know if you've made this correctly otherwise you'll have to do it all over again," he replied blandly, pulling out his wand, and with a swish and a flick had a container dip into the warm liquid, a cork stopping the top as the container floated into his hands. "You shall need to test it."

She gulped and lowered her gaze on the liquid as he passed her the container. "On someone?"

He raised an eyebrow. "That is the idea."

"Who?" She squeaked, having suspected that she might have to use this potion for her 'end of semester mission' but not having guessed that she might have to use it  _now_. "Will this even work? I am in Parkinson's form." She blinked. "Is  _that_  the reason it was modified?"

"Test it out," he repeated blandly.

"Did Lana have to do this?" Chloe wanted to know.

"Miss Rosier, though very capable with brewing potions, was barely able to remember to  _take_  them, much less administer them to others," Severus declared with a slight sneer. "When she returns I hope that Bellatrix has sorted out those...tendencies."

Chloe clasped the container and placed it in her pocket. "So all I have to do is make the person I want to... test it on... drink something with some drops of this in it or something like that, right?"

He nodded. "Report to me during our next meeting on how it went."

"You want me to do it  _now_?" Chloe squeaked.

"You are dismissed." Severus waved her away.

Slipping the potion into her pocket, Chloe fretted as she tried to figure out who in the world she wanted to use as a test subject, and it didn't occur to her that Severus hadn't told her exactly what Voldemort's plans were concerning her safety in Hogwarts and having an ally.

* * *

To say that she was grateful that today was Saturday and thus there were no classes was an understatement. The blonde in a brunette's body fretted the whole day away, trying to figure out who exactly to administer the potion to and how. She'd gone over every single candidate and yet couldn't come around to doing it. She'd chickened out, coming up with a million reasons why each and every one would be a HORRIBLE person to have infatuated with her, even if it was only for a couple of hours or days... depending on how long the dose would linger in their bodies. Still she knew that Severus would be waiting for her report and to know whether the Amortentia she'd made was usable... so there was no way around it. She had to hex someone into being in love with her. Great. Just great.

In the end she went the coward's way and left a goblet with pumpkin juice in the middle of the Common Room while no one was around, the taste of the Amortentia within hopefully masked by the taste of the juice itself.

She'd then hurried to her room and hid within on Pansy's bed, pulling out the scroll she always kept on her, seeing that Draco had written her.

_**Attn: Annoyingly Vague** _

_**Last night that bitch Parkinson broke my nose! She went completely mental for no reason, sputtering things about proposals, and then threw a book at me! I swear, women make no bloody sense! If she's so determined to marry me you'd think she'd have the sense to know that physical assault is NOT the way! I'm going to get her back for it and she's going to rue the day she ever met me.** _

_**I have to admit it though, despite everything, that was probably the only time I've actually felt some respect for the chit.** _

_**Also, the fact that she threw a book at me and not a curse was... quite interesting. It annoys me that I'm still quite intrigued by that move.** _

_**You've been a terrible correspondent lately.** _

_**Also, you are terrible at riddles. I still can't make sense of those senseless words.** _

_**If it's supposed to be so bloody important then make it clearer.** _

_**Draco Malfoy, Currently Plotting Revenge** _

Gulping, wondering what exactly Draco had planned for her, Chloe brought the quill to the scroll.

_Attn: Currently Plotting_

_She BROKE it? What exactly did you do to make her that mad? And also, the fact that she used physical violence in lieu of magic shows some serious personal issues there. It's what you'd call a crime of passion. Maybe the book she was throwing at you had to do with the Etiquette of Pure Blood Marriage Proposals? Maybe there's something in that. You should most definitely check it out just in case this is all a terrible misunderstanding._

_See? You're actually liking her better because of it!_

_No need for violence._

_Yes, I must admit that I have been a terrible correspondent and for that I must apologize. I'm just trying to grow accustomed to certain circumstances and they've left me... feeling quite unlike myself. Hopefully I'll get into my new routine soon and I'll be able to entertain you better._

_You're terrible at answering riddles._

_Chloe Sullivan, Riddler Extraordinaire_

She rolled back up the scroll and quill and placed it in the pocket of her robes before a loud sound from the Commons caught her attention.

The blonde stood and exited the dorm room, going towards the Commons and frowning when she saw Theodore holding his hand to his head.

"Theodore?" She called, worried. "Is everything all right?"

He turned towards her, before smiling. "Yes."

She blinked, shocked since Slytherins didn't exactly smile so openly to each other. They sneered.

"You're so beautiful."

Chloe's eyes widened in horror as she realized what was going on. "Oh no." Her gaze went to the now empty goblet and by the time she returned her gaze to Theodore and opened her mouth to apologize he was in front of her, arms going around her body and pulling her to him in a kiss.

The blonde squeaked into the kiss, not sure what to do or where to put her hands.

This was so wrong!

She hadn't expected Theodore would be the one to-!

This was all against his will!

He-!

The entrance to the dungeons slid open and Draco Malfoy entered, stopping when he saw what was going on. "You're such a slag, Parkinson."

Theodore let go of Chloe and turned his wand on Draco. "Take that back!"

Draco trained his own wand at Theodore in seconds. "I've been waiting for this."

"Wait! Don't! Stop it!" Chloe looked between them frantically. "Theodore, don't listen to him, okay? He's just mad because I broke his nose."

"No one insults you in my presence and gets away with it," Theodore snarled. "You are all things wonderful and sweet."

Draco barked out laughter. "Parkinson? Wonderful and sweet? Are you  _barmy_?"

"I will not have you speak of her that way!" Theodore growled. "CRUCIO!"

Draco sneered. "CRUCIO!"

"STOP IT!" Chloe screamed, getting in between them and holding her hands out, the curses from each side hitting her at the same time, filling her with the intensity of their anger.

She doubted that people realized that their emotions came through to the one being Crucio'd. She could feel the anger and resentment both boys felt towards the other, and these emotions fueled their Crucios. Thankfully though, despite the fact that she was being hit with two different Crucios, the boys didn't have half of the anger or power that Bellatrix did, so while the pain ripped through her, Chloe was able to remain standing. Her knees were wobbling though.

"My love!" Theodore cried out in terror, rushing to her side and gathering her in his arms.

Draco was frozen, eyeing her in horror. "Why would you do that?"

Chloe held onto Theodore's robes, taking in a deep breath. The Crucios still circulated in her system like electricity yet their effect was already beginning to wear off. "Because I could handle it. You two idiots though? I doubt it."

Theodore swept her off of her feet, causing her to cry out in surprise at the unexpected move. "We must take you to the Infirmary."

"No!" Chloe shook her head. "I'm fine Theo. Really."

"What if I have hurt you?" Theo wailed. "How could I look into your beautiful eyes knowing that I made them flash with hurt? I don't deserve to live!"

She looked up at him and sighed. "We need to get that antidote in you. Right away. I can't deal with this until it wears off." She struggled to get down but Theodore wasn't letting go. "Theo!"

"No," he replied firmly.

She groaned. "Please!"

Draco looked between them before his eyes narrowed. "Really Nott, Parkinson is telling you she's okay. Are you calling her a liar?"

Theo's eyes flashed with horror. "Never!" His dark gaze went to Chloe. "I would  _never_ -!"

"I know!" Chloe wondered why in the world someone would want someone else this devoted to them. It was somewhat scary... and annoying. She much preferred Theodore the way he was normally, not this... this love-sick puppy. "Why don't we go visit Professor Snape?"

"Yes, why  _don't_  you?" Draco sneered. "He'll obviously have the antidote to whatever it is Nott is suffering from."

"There is no antidote to love!" Theodore assured in a spirited way.

"Of course there isn't." This time when she tried to get down he allowed her to, and Chloe gave Theodore an encouraging smile as she slid her arm around his waist. "Let's go."

He smiled down at her, blushing, as his arm encircled her shoulders. "To the ends of the world."

Oh dear god.

Chloe just nodded to Theodore's many declarations of love as she led him out of the dungeons, admittedly relieved Draco had stayed behind. It was embarrassing enough, having Theodore start sputtering to the portraits about her many beauties and marvelous ways. He even tried to stop a couple of third years to tell them about the 'joy of reciprocated affection', but Chloe managed to somehow keep him from going on too long with his revelation to them and mumbled to the confused third years that 'Malfoy' had jinxed 'Nott'. The Slytherins had sensed the tension between Theodore and Draco and quickly accepted this explanation, one muttering about how those two should remember they were fighting  _Gryffindor_  and not each other.

"And your skin really isn't so terribly pallid like everyone says." Theodore felt she needed to know as they strolled towards Severus' rooms.

"Thank you," Chloe sighed.

"And your nose really  _isn't_  puggish," he continued.

She brought a hand to her nose.

"And your tits  _aren't_  completely-."

"I get it!" She cried out, feeling insecure even though she knew that these observations were really towards Pansy's body and not her own.

By the time they finally made it to Severus' chambers Chloe was nearly in tears in desperation to have this enchantment removed from Theodore Nott. She didn't know what sort of insecure,  _desperate_ person would use Amortentia on someone else, but she not only pitied the person-she quite  _detested_  them. This was horrible. This was inhumane. No one should have to suffer having someone behave the way Theodore was acting towards her. No one should  _enjoy_  it!

Severus raised an eyebrow as he opened the door to see Theodore with his arm proprietarily around Chloe. "Interesting."

"It's not interesting," she growled at him as she pushed into his chambers, dragging Theodore with her. "It worked. Now stop it."

"Why are we coming to Professor Snape's rooms?" Theodore frowned. "He doesn't have designs on you too, does he?"

"No." Chloe pulled away, taking in a deep breath. "Nott, you weren't supposed to drink that. I-I've been falling behind on my grades in McGonagall's class, you know how she's so biased for her House, and so to make extra credit Professor Snape let me do some extra curricular work. One of the potions I had to make was Amortentia."

Severus, who'd gone into the closet, came back out with a vial. "Drink this."

Theodore looked at the vial in disdain. "My love is  _not_  a fabrication of  _potions_!"

"Prove it then." Chloe pinched the bridge of her nose. "If it's real then you drinking the Amortentia antidote won't do a thing."

Seeing the reason in that even in his deluded state, Theodore drank the potion, and then dropped the vial, coughing at the taste as the Amortentia wore off. He looked up, horror and embarrassment on his features before he turned and stormed out of the room, muttering darkly to himself.

Chloe took in a deep breath and sat down on Snape's chair. "What a relief." Her eyes opened. "I hope my final exam doesn't involve me having to go through something similar to that ever again."

Severus' lips twitched in evil amusement despite his emotionless face. "Many a teenaged witch would have salivated to be in your position."

"If a guy chooses to kiss me, I don't want a love potion to be the reason," she declared, making a face. "It's wrong. The kiss even  _tasted_  wrong because I knew that he really didn't want to."

"What high morals." Severus seemed to be mocking her.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "I have Defense Against the Dark Arts tomorrow. How am I supposed to get through that class without any magical abilities to speak of?"

He folded his arms over his chest. "You shall have to tell me exactly how during tomorrow's detention."

"You're no help, Severus," she complained, pushing up from her seat. "10 points from Slytherin."

He snorted. "I am not in Slytherin. You cannot deduct points from me."

"Of course you're in Slytherin," she countered with a wink. "You're its Crown Prince."

And with that she left his chambers, already trying to figure out just how she was going to get through this mission without being discovered.


	3. Chapter 3

The disused bathroom on the sixth floor had obviously not been abandoned so long ago. There were Chocolate Frog Cards and some long forgotten robes just lying around. One of the toilets was broken and the bookshelf (which was there for some unimaginable reason) still had books in it. The bathroom was clean though, and private. Severus had assured her that she was the only one who knew the new password to this specific prefect bathroom and thus it gave her the privacy she needed. It was only within these walls that she could be herself once more, and not wear Pansy's form. She spent a ridiculous amount of time in this room, just happy to be able to walk around in her own skin without worry.

The room was constantly warm, and dry, and clean. The water in the large pool-like tub was always the perfect temperature, it always smelt of a different sweet aroma each time she bathed, and a towel was always fluffy and warm and waiting for her.

She lazed in the tub most of the time, soaking in the warmth of the sweat-smelling water, which was sometimes (like tonight) filled with bubbles.

Chloe closed her eyes and groaned, leaning her head back as she relaxed, unable to understand how she could have ever lived life without this... without magic and all it gave.

It was in moments like these that she tried to imagine what life would have been like if she hadn't signed up for that pen pal program and started exchanging emails with Draco. What if he'd never shown those pictures to his father? What if Lucius Malfoy hadn't recognized her uncle and her father in those pictures? What if her family had remained hidden in the muggle world for the rest of their lives? It wasn't to say that Chloe hadn't enjoyed it while she'd thought herself a muggle, because she  _had_ , but now that she knew that there was a wizarding world, that she was a part of it, and all that this new world had to offer - well - she'd be miserable if she had to go back to Smallville and her old way of life. It really made her appreciate the sacrifices their parents had made to keep them safe - and made her understand, even if only a little - why her mother hadn't been able to do it any longer and had left them.

Chloe loved magic. She loved this world. And if she weren't defective and could properly use magic she'd love it even more. The thought of having to stop, of having to pretend none of this existed-it would've driven her insane. If she had to choose between the two worlds -muggle and wizard - the latter would win, no competition.

Sure, she missed her old friends, Clark especially, but Chloe liked to think that once the war was over and Lord Voldemort had taken power away from that demented Dumbledore, that she'd be allowed to go and see Clark. She doubted she'd be able to explain things to him to the degree he'd want, but at least she would be able to let him know she was fine, and catch up with him.

"Despite her many declarations of love, Parkinson would  _never_  step in front of a Crucio for me," Draco's voice declared, shocking her out of her thoughts.

Chloe's green eyes flew open as she jerked with a squeak, lowering further under the protective cover of the blanket of bubbles. "Get out of here! What the hell are you doing?"

Draco stood in the shadows, hands in his pockets, watching her. "You were good, you were  _really_ good. I never suspected a thing."

"Obviously I wasn't  _that_  good. And obviously you  _did_." She blushed and lowered even further so the water reached her chin. "How did you get in here? I'm the only one who knows the password!"

"I hid and heard you say it." Draco shrugged. "You really  _should_  be more careful you know."

"I'm seeing that." She glared at him, embarrassed.

"How long have you been here?" He questioned. "How long have you been Parkinson? I knew Rosier was gone because Bulstrode was back to herself and so was Nott... but I never once suspected that you were Parkinson. Or that she wasn't herself." He shook his head. "If you hadn't gotten between me and Nott I still wouldn't suspect anything." He snorted. "There's only one person I can think of who would be  _stupid_  enough to do step in between two Cruicios."

"See if I ever do that again." She made a face. "And for your information I haven't been here long. Three days."

"Three days," Draco mumbled before making a face. "You broke my nose."

"You threw a curse at me that exploded the cushion!" Chloe accused.

"Why the bloody hell would you be stupid enough to antagonize a wizard who has superior knowledge of wandwork than you?" Draco wanted to know. "Thats completely idiotic!"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You know what? This is a bathroom. It's for bathing. Not for interrogating." She hugged her chest tighter. "So if you don't mind..."

" _Fine_ ," Draco declared, turning and heading towards the door.

Taking in a deep breath, Chloe closed her eyes and leaned her head against the ledge again, wondering how she was going to break the news to Severus that she'd failed, just like Lana. He was not going to be happy at all!

The sound of water swishing caused Chloe's eyes to fly open in time to catch sight of Draco submerged to his hips in the water.

Her eyes widened and she hoped he took the blush climbing up her neck as a side effect of the warm water.

"What?" He raised an eyebrow as he settled across from her, the bubbles playing against his naked flesh as he leaned back, smirking at her horrified expression. "You told me to take a bath."

"I did not!" She gasped in horror, gathering more bubbles around her.

He smirked, obviously quite amused with her. "This is novel."

"Oh really?" She tried for more annoyed and less embarrassed. "You're so at ease with this it would seem you make it a habit to intrude upon girls during their bath time."

"Oh, on the contrary, I prefer to bathe alone," he replied as if they were talking about the weather while enjoying tea and biscuits.

"You don't say." She tried for that same ease. "So do  _I_."

"It's a good thing we have this private bathroom then, isn't it?" He was taunting her and enjoying it.

"No,  _I_  have this bathroom, not you. This is your last dip in my tub," she replied.

"Oh, is it?" He asked curiously.

"It is," she assured him.

"I wonder what Headmaster Dumbledore thinks about people using Polyjuice to invade his school," Draco mumbled to himself.

"You wouldn't," Chloe gasped.

"Wouldn't I?" Draco wondered.

"No, you  _wouldn't_." She glared at him.

Draco murmured as he looked around the bathroom. "The place could use with some fixing up."

"It serves its purpose." She made a face.

Draco turned and pulled up on the ledge enough for the water to cling to his lower back seductively, bubbles slowly sliding down to the dimples in the small of his back.

Chloe cleared her throat and lowered further into the water until the water's line was right beneath her nose.

Seemingly oblivious to her gaze, Draco reached for his wand and pointed it to different parts of the bathroom, whispering spells she'd never heard of before, fixing the toilet and some of the lights, adding doors to the toilet stalls and generally making the bathroom a lot nicer.

Chloe relaxed a little in her confusion as she watched him work. "What are you doing?"

"I thought it was obvious." With a flick of his wand a toilet stall became a full-length mirror. "I excel in transformative charms."

She smirked at his trademark arrogance. "You do."

"Mother says that Pureblood women are delicate and need certain...commodities." Draco shrugged, putting down his wand and turning to sit down once more, facing her. "Father would be miffed at me should he find out I knew you were here and didn't... make the place nicer."

Chloe eyed him before smirking. "Daddy's boy."

He scoffed. "Is that the thanks I get?"

"Thank you." She pulled a wet strand of hair behind her ear.

"That's better." He smirked as he leaned hard against the backrest. "So. How was your mission?"

"I told you, successful," she replied as she looked away, unable to keep from thinking back to it, to Metropolis. "I am alive, aren't I?"

Draco's eyes narrowed on her intently. "What was the mission?"

"Why are you asking me when you know I can't tell you?" She frowned, memories flashing before her of Morgan Edge, the Metropolis crime boss. She remembered the feel of his hand on her knee. It made her stomach queasy, and whenever she felt queasy her mind went to the "Aurors" as Nott had called them... the ones who'd nearly...

Chloe took in a deep breath and hugged herself tightly.

She didn't notice Draco's eyes narrow further before suddenly widening.

"Were you hurt?"

She looked up, surprised at the question, before shaking her head.

He continued to eye her intently for a moment before apparently accepting her answer and relaxing once more, his lips curling in a self-satisfied smile. "So, you want me to propose to you, huh?"

"Say what?" Chloe blinked, utterly confused as to what he was referring to.

"When you broke my nose in a fit of passion." The Slytherin was obviously having a fun time mocking her. "You told me you were waiting for a proposal."

"I was trying to be Pansy," Chloe grumbled, annoyed and embarrassed, knowing he would never let her live that down. "For some reason she's obsessed with becoming the next Mrs. Malfoy."

"Of course she is." His blue gaze rested upon her intently. "You know, you could use this to your advantage."

Tilting her head to the side, Chloe eyed him curiously, forgetting for a second the awkward position she found herself in. "How so?"

"As you said, Parkinson wants to be the next Mrs. Malfoy, everyone knows that, and no one will think twice about it if I decide to humor her desires... as payback for the stunt you pulled. I'll tell everyone that I'm making you believe I have feelings for you so I can break your heart and spirit," Draco smirked devilishly, leaning back languidly, gaze never leaving her face. "You'll benefit the most from this situation."

"Will I?" Her lips twitched slightly at his roundabout way of offering help while doing his best not to come off as  _nice_.

"Don't be daft." Draco raised an eyebrow. "Not only will I be able to lend credibility to your performance as Parkinson, but you'll have the excuse you've been searching for to kiss me again."

Chloe's eyes widened slightly and her embarrassment from before returned tenfold. "I kissed you both times to heal you. There was no other reason behind it."

Draco just continued smirking at her.

She fidgeted. "What do you get out of this?"

Draco's grey eyes surveyed her intently as he leaned harder against the side of the pool. "I'll have you eternally ingratiated towards me and you'll owe me something which I'll come collecting later on."

Her eyes narrowed at just how utterly sinister he seemed right now. "What sort of thing would I owe you?"

"Don't worry Chloe, I'm not bartering for your virtue or your firstborn," Draco chuckled, tilting his head slightly, palest blonde hair falling into his face and amplifying his utterly mischievous expression. "Don't you trust me?"

"Not in the least bit," she mumbled.

He laughed, shaking his head.

Her eyes widened, shocked to see him genuinely  _laughing_  at something and not  _sneering_.

Immediately his laughter stopped and he wiped away his smile, obviously uncomfortable as he glared at her. "What?"

"Nothing." Chloe hugged her knees to her chest, eyeing him curiously. "I just-you know-the whole smiling thing? It suits you."

Shock raced across his features as Draco eyed her curiously. "You're an odd bird, Greengrass."

" _Sullivan_." She glared at him. "I told you already, Greengrass is a  _description_ , I can't possibly accept that as my last name."

"Greengrass is a respectable pureblood name. You need to stop shunning it," Draco scolded without any heat. "Within our… circles… your way of seeing things won't be appreciated. I can't believe you'd be daft enough not to have realized this by now. Not everyone is as tolerant to your inane peculiarities as I am you know."

And once again, she realized he was trying to help her in his own way. "He doesn't want me growing close to you."

Draco's eyes narrowed. "Because I actually could  _tolerate_  you before."

She nodded silently. "I think he's going to pick someone for the three of us by the time our training is over."

"So, he's matchmaking Rosier and Gaunt as well," Draco murmured, gaze dark and thoughtful. "Considering that he himself has never shown any preference for a lover it is quite… intriguing that he puts so much interest in your future matches."

"He's our guardian," Chloe responded, before her eyes widened when she realized that the bubbles were beginning to pop. "Close your eyes!"

"Excuse me?"

"Close them!"

Despite giving her a glare, Draco complied.

Taking this golden opportunity, Chloe slipped out of the water and into a bathrobe, tying it closed around her tightly. "You can look now."

Draco's grey orbs opened and he eyed her with a smirk. "Green silk. How Slytherin of you."

"I accept your proposal," Chloe responded, feet nicely warmed on the floor thanks to the heating charms placed on it. "During the duration of my stay here in Hogwarts I'll pretend to be your girlfriend, and accept the help you'll bestow to me in return for some sinister sounding future favor."

"Which you won't be able to turn down." Draco smirked, leaning with his arms crossed on the ledge above him and his chin resting on them. "With all I'll have to do to help you pass this test, you will not have the right to deny me when I come to you later on with my… favor."

" _Fine_." And the only reason she was agreeing was because, despite her better judgment, she trusted this arrogant prick. "I agree."

Draco smirked. "You're a terrible Pureblood. My parents will tell you whenever your turn with them has arrived, that when a Pureblood makes an oath, he makes it unbreakable. Trust  _no one_  to keep their word without a spell to force them to."

His need for this extra assurance raised concern and curiosity within her. "You have something utterly dreadful planned for me, don't you?"

Draco shook his head, amused as he stood, the water clinging low down on his hips, the few bubbles remaining the only things keeping him halfway decent. "Trust me, Sullivan, you're going to benefit from having me on your side."

He'd called her Sullivan.

That alone won her over, and put her on even more alert.

"You need a bonder to cast the Unbreakable Vow," she pointed out.

"Who said anything about the Unbreakable Vow?" The devilment in his eyes was her only warning before suddenly he'd turned and climbed out of the pool, summoning a towel with the Slytherin crest to wrap around his hips. "It'll just be a little spell between us that I can easily cast. It will do the same job as the Unbreakable except  _death_  wouldn't be your punishment if you broke your promise."

"What  _would_ be my punishment?" Chloe had swung around when Draco had climbed out, a blush rising up her neck as she kept her eyes closed despite being turned away from him, a hand over her eyes.

"Maybe I  _should_  make it your firstborn." His voice was in her ear, low and surprisingly seductive.

Heat jolted through her and Chloe gasped in shock, turning around, opening her eyes quickly to see his little sneer. He'd obviously been taunting her. No way had he been flirting. Draco didn't know how to flirt. He couldn't. It just couldn't be in his nature.

"So… jumpy," he sneered.

"One more thing." Gaze momentarily going to where his towel hung way too low around his waist, Chloe's greens quickly rose back up to his face. "I need another favor."

"And what would that be?" A palest blonde eyebrow rose as he folded his hands over his chest.

This was it.

She could get into  _so much_  trouble for this!

"I'll need you to help me in classes. With magic. I can pull off everything else, but when I need to do something with wand magic I'll need you to do it for me. Our classwork is mostly done with pairs from what I've seen, one doing the research or written work, and the other doing the magic application, so it should be a feasible arrangement."

Draco frowned, eyeing her intently. "Why? You have Parkinson's wand. It mightn't be a comfortable fit but you can still use that."

No. She couldn't!

Chloe stared into his eyes, trying to put on a false show of disinterest as she frantically struggled to find a way of getting around having to explain that she didn't possess the ability to use a wand.

Draco's eyes widened. " _What_?"

"I didn't say anything." The young woman frowned at him before running fingers through her hair.

"You know what?" Draco was doing exactly the same thing. "It doesn't matter. Whatever the reason, I'll do it.  _But_  you'd owe me  _three_  favors instead of one. This is going to be  _much_  more work than just pretending to be your boyfriend."

Chloe wanted to argue, wanted to haggle, but she'd gotten off easy and was surprised that he hadn't pushed for her to explain her demand. He was the type of person who would do something like that. "Okay, but you can't ask me to do or tell you anything which could endanger Him."

"Don't be daft." Draco rolled his eyes. "That never crossed my mind."

Of course it wouldn't-but she'd needed to feel like she wasn't betraying Voldemort somehow, could use this as proof to keep herself from feeling guilty in the future.

"So we've agreed on the terms of our agreement." He grabbed his wand and whispered something under his breath as he twirled it. Magic sparkled at its tip. "I will be your boyfriend and help you pass this test while using magic to do so when need be, and you will owe me three favors which you cannot deny on penalty of losing your three most treasured memories forever."

Chloe's eyes widened at the stakes… and yet this was much better than the death punishment, wasn't it?

Gulping, Chloe nodded. "I agree."

Draco smirked as the magic from his wand shot out, encircling them as his hand reached out to her. "Now, we seal the deal."

Wondering why the glint in his eyes made her feel like she was making a pact with the devil, Chloe gulped before she placed her hand in his.


	4. Chapter 4

To be honest, Chloe didn't really know what being Draco Malfoy's pretend girlfriend meant. It was also harder because she couldn't just  _react_ , but had to do so in the way that she supposed Parkinson would. Bellatrix's lessons were really beginning to pay off. They made her think cunningly, made her process things in a way she never would've done so naturally, and Chloe realized that having studied under Bellatrix before taking on this task had given her an unfair advantage. She couldn't help but feel sorry for Lana for having to try this without any of Bellatrix's tutelage. No wonder the girl had failed!

A part of Chloe wondered about Lois and Lana, about what they were doing now, what they were learning. Lana didn't have the problems Chloe did so she doubted that Bellatrix would teach her the restraint she had Chloe, but there had to be something else Lana needed working on so as not to be a weak link and Bellatrix would sniff it out quickly.

Manners and culture were definitely Lois' biggest problem, and it really wasn't because the brunette  _couldn't_  learn them, but because she had absolutely  _no desire_  to do so. She'd always made her nose up at "ladies" and rules of any kind. The only person's rules she'd ever followed had been the Dark Lord's and it wasn't without question sometimes. She was a wild spirit and Chloe didn't blame Lucius' training on the fact that she hadn't been tamed. Lois would only allow herself to appear tamed, at best, and that was only once the joy of exasperating Lucius and his wife failed to outweigh the tedious lessons they were giving her.

Leaning back on the sofa, legs tucked under her, Chloe ignored the other Slytherins in the Common Room and instead went over the revision for the Defense Against the Dark Arts. This class caught her interest the most due to the fact that while under Lord Voldemort's tutelage she'd learnt all about the Dark Arts but never really how to counter them. This was an interesting flip of the coin, and her desire to learn, to be useful in some way, had her consuming the literature Pansy Parkinson always took for granted. It was why Chloe was reading the whole DADA textbook from the beginning even though the real Parkinson would have already read and known this information. To be honest, Chloe had already done this exact same thing with all of Parkinson's school texts so she'd know what the other girl should, but she hadn't paid as close attention to the other subjects as she did with this one.

Pulling a strand of dark hair behind her ear, the teenager went over an extremely interesting part of the text, committing it to memory. It was her utter interest in what she read that was to blame for her missing Draco's grand entrance, and the way the girls in the Common Room sat up a little straighter, preening for him. She licked her lips, nibbling on the bottom one for a second as she closed her eyes and repeated the sentence over and over again, her lips moving silently as she lodged that sentence deep within her mind.

The sofa dipped with the weight of someone sitting far too close to her. Her eyes flew open as she turned to tell whoever it was to back off... when she came face to face with Draco Malfoy.

The whole Common Room was deathly silent.

"We already studied all that." He rested his arm around her shoulders casually, as if this wasn't out of character at all, and leaned in as he peeked at what she was reading.

"I know that." She cleared her throat and returned her gaze to the book as well. "I'm just thinking that, with the study guide basically giving us a hint of what we're going to be having our exams on, it would be better if I brushed up on what we already learnt on the subject." The girl nearly froze when she felt Draco's fingers trail up and down the side of her neck in a lazy caress. "I-uh-with Buckteeth Granger always sixteen steps ahead of us and stealing our damned H-House Points I thought we should, I don't know-." She was forgetting what she was saying as his thumb pressed a little harder against her skin, causing her to shiver. "Uh—ummm."

Draco's grin was evil and amused as he leaned in closer, speaking softly into her ear, his breath tickling her loose strands of hair. "Parkinson isn't smart, Chlo."

Chlo?

She felt her body flush as she forced herself to keep from reacting, tried to think about how Parkinson would do this.

Parkinson was obsessed with Draco... so she'd probably be on cloud nine now and not having a minor heart attack and mental breakdown... and she probably wouldn't have gone all blank in the head and melted in the bones.

Confused as to her intense reactions to  _Draco_  of all people, Chloe fought with herself before calming down and snapping the book shut. She turned towards him with the smirk she'd seen in enough of Parkinson's pictures. Throwing the book over the back of her shoulder (innerly cringing at the disrespect to the book), she surged forwards and over him so that she straddled him as he leaned back against the sofa, his arms splayed out on either side of the neck-rest. His eyes were silvery blue, intrigued and challenging as he stared up at her.

Parkinson would be eating this up.

Parkinson wanted to be this man's wife.

Parkinson would use this opportunity to not only cement her position in his life, but send a message to the other girls who wanted him as well.

Parkinson would mark him as her own.

Draco's gaze was intent on her face, less amused yet still intense. His arms remained splayed out on either side as he obviously challenged her to take the next step.

Wetting her lips, Chloe's heart raced as her gaze lowered to his lips. She then looked up quickly and turned to glance at the students on her right who were watching them with wide-eyed shock. The blonde in raven-haired body let herself smirk the smirk she'd been studying and perfecting as she turned her gaze towards the students on her left as well.

Parkinson would gloat.

Parkinson would rub it in.

Parkinson would want everyone to witness this occasion.

Parkinson-Parkinson wouldn't hesitate this long.

Returning her gaze down to Draco, Chloe leaned forwards, molding her body to his, her hips sliding back slightly down his lap to accommodate her new position. Draco's hiss was a welcomed, unintended praise as he tightened his grip on the neck rest of the sofa.

The sound made her feel a little more at ease. It betrayed that she wasn't the only one affected or out of her depth. Still, Bellatrix had taught her about this, about how to use anticipation to bring a man to his knees, so she should technically have the upper hand, but Chloe hadn't ever had to use her knowledge on someone else before.

Hadn't wanted to.

And yet now a part of her now wanted to see if she could bring Draco to his knees.

Draco snickered at her, almost challengingly, almost as if he could read her thoughts.

Trying to ignore the many eyes on her, Chloe closed her own and pressed a kiss to Draco's forehead. Parkinson would have rushed it, pressed her mouth to Draco's, sloppily eager, but Chloe took her time. She kept her eyes closed, breathing in the soapy scent of his skin as she pressed soft kisses to the side of his face. She tested the feel of him beneath her lips, alternating from closed mouth kisses to slightly opened ones, tasting flesh.

Draco's grip on the neck rest of the sofa tightened. She could feel it. Feel the tension in his body. Her lips travelled down the sides of his face slowly, alternating, before skipping his mouth all-together in a move that obviously annoyed him if the slight growl that escaped could be trusted.

She ignored him though, never having had the freedom or courage to do this with another guy before and reveling in it, in the sense of control. Her lips hovered right over his, hesitating once more, thinking back to the two other times her lips had touched his. There'd been healing involved in each one of them, intense pain, and a part of her associated kissing Draco with pain.

A part of her was surprisingly enough scared of it.

A snarl escaped Draco's lips as he surprised her by cupping the back of her neck and pulling her down, destroying the distance between them as their lips finally met.

There was no pain.

That was Chloe's first thought, and her last one.

All ability to think evaporated as his lips moved against hers and she responded in kind, running her fingers through his palest blonde locks and clenching tightly, swallowing his hiss and in turn whimpering when he tightened his hold on the back of her neck.

Draco's lips were as arrogant and assured as his attitude. He seemed to want to consume her completely, his grip on her neck a warning of his refusal to let go, to let her slide away. He kept her firmly in place with a hand and claimed her with his lips, marking his territory for all those to see.

Parkinson would probably be doing a lot of gloating right now, thinking about how the others would react.

Chloe could only afford a whimper, which he swallowed greedily, the girl feeling very much a disgrace to Bellatrix due to her inability to seduce and keep control over him.

Draco was very much the one in control here.

They both knew it.

Those watching knew it.

Chloe's knees were weak. Heat filled her body as it arched into his, coming alive in reaction to him and his touch, his kiss. She feared this intense, unexpected reaction, instinct demanding she pull away and hide, that she go over everything in her mind and categorize things...understand things.

Draco's hand tightened on her, his other reached around to hook his thumb in the back of her skirt. Both moves were warnings, both moves secured her to him, both moves made her body terribly hyperaware and tingly.

She could feel the effect was mutual.

"Five points from Slytherin for inappropriate behavior in the Common Room," a voice drawled.

Chloe and Draco released their hold on each other, gazes going to where Snape watched them with a raised eyebrow.

"Another five points since Miss Parkinson didn't seem to remember to attend her own detention."

The Slytherins groaned at having so many points deducted from their house, and yet didn't seem to have it in them to glare at the ones to blame, probably still reeling from what they'd just witnessed.

"If you're not too busy." Snape raised an eyebrow before turning, his robes flowing behind him, and stormed out of the Common Room.

Chloe gulped and pulled herself up from Draco hastily. Clearing her throat she willed that Parkinson-smirk to return on her face as her now brown eyes surveyed her fellow Slytherins. They were all still pretty much in shock, some of them even stared at her with parted lips. Unable to look at Draco, Chloe walked out after the professor, her head tilted up proudly.

The second the door closed up behind her all her mock bravery deflated and she slouched. Worrying her bottom lip she hurried to catch up with Snape, walking next to him.

He was silent, staring in front of him.

Sighing, Chloe folded her arms over her chest as she followed after him, not even trying to start a conversation while following him. It was only when she realized that they were not headed towards his office that she frowned and cleared her throat. "Where are we going?"

"You have been summoned." He stopped in front of an ugly statue and pulled its head down, causing a secret panel to open. "Follow me and be quiet."

A mixture of terror and guilt and eagerness filled her. The teenager followed Snape into the darkness, turning behind her to watch the wall close up behind her. For a moment everything was pitch black, and then Snape whispered a spell, the tip of his wand illuminating brightly, showing the passage before them.

"Hurry now."

Nodding, Chloe turned back towards him and kept close to his heels throughout the journey, wondering exactly where this tunnel led to, the answer which was soon to be given to her when they came up to a stone wall. Snape tapped it twice with his wand, whispering an incantation, and the wall disappeared to show an empty meadow.

Walking through onto the grass, Snape continued onwards before turning to her.

Gulping, Chloe took in a deep breath before hurrying out onto the dew-filled grass, staring around her at the moon-lit sky, eyes wide as she saw the vast nothingness around her.

Snape reached into his pocket and pulled something out, a Portkey.

It would seem their journey had yet to come to an end.

Having had some experience with these things and not quite liking them, Chloe grimaced. Still she didn't complain as she placed her hand on the portkey and let it take her away. There was a pull in her stomach and the world slid away, until finally she wasn't in the meadow anymore but in the withered garden of an estate she'd never seen before.

The light in the house beckoned them, and yet Chloe turned away from it, staring towards a large statue which was mostly covered in vines. She narrowed her eyes taking one step, two, towards it, drawn.

A shadow emerged from behind the statue, and she recognized that regal walk as he drew nearer.

Chloe eyes widened as she hurried towards him and fell to her knees, bowing her head. "My Lord!"


	5. Chapter 5

His hand tilted her face upwards, and as her eyes met his Chloe could feel the tug as Lord Voldemort entered her mind. As always it was very physical, the blonde able to feel it every time he strode to a door and opened it to a new memory, again and again. Flashes of her memories raced by until he reached the altercation with Draco in the bathroom, and then he went through everything after it up to the kiss. It was then that he let go of her chin and her mind, eyeing her in silence.

Chloe kept her head lowered, knowing that she'd gone against his wishes and feeling horribly guilty for it, but… "It was necessary, My Lord."

He continued to eye her in silence.

"I need an ally." She raised her gaze to him, willing him to see the truth in her eyes. "I know that you do not trust Draco because he and I were… tolerant… of each other before my blood status was discovered, but that's the reason  _why_  I can trust him. I  _know_  I can. And not only will he never tell that I'm there, but he'll assist me."

"For a price," Lord Voldemort reminded with a hiss.

"Whatever the price, it will never affect  _you_  My Lord," she reminded, knowing he'd seen that part as well as she stood, staring into those scarlet eyes. "Whatever the price I pay, it will be worth it if it means I am better able to serve you."

He eyed her before a twisted smile ghosted over his features and he reached out to her. "My faithful child."

She placed her hand in his, so relieved that he knew that she hadn't betrayed him, that everything she did was in an effort to pass his tests and be worthy of the tenderness he showed her.

"Severus." Lord Voldemort turned to the Potions Master. "You are right. She is cunning. And ready." He nodded to the man. "As expected she has chosen and secured her own ally." His gaze returned to Chloe. "I must admit though that I expected you to choose Nott, you have proven a good pairing in the past."

"Nott didn't recognize the me hidden in Pansy's form, even when I took a Crucio for him," Chloe admitted softly. "Draco did. He was worthy."

"I can see your point," her Lord declared as he looped her arm around his and led her around the abandoned, overgrown remains of what had once been a beautiful garden. "How are you finding Hogwarts?"

"Interesting," she admitted, still a little nervous yet brushing it off now that he seemed to have forgiven her and pushed aside the issue. "Dumbledore terrifies me. Harry Potter… he makes me uneasy."

"With good reason. Dumbledore is a madman and Harry Potter a very dangerous person indeed."

"I've been dreaming of Potter and I didn't realize it," Chloe admitted softly, noticing the way his body tensed slightly at this revelation. "I never know exactly what it is that I'm seeing, it's too fuzzy, but I know it's Potter and death and pain and suffering." She shivered. "I want nothing to do with him."

"Stay far away from him," Voldemort ordered. "And if you feel you are in danger, I will have you pulled out of there immediately."

"I'm not in danger." She smiled up at him, knowing this man could not be the monster the Order liked to make everyone believe he was. "I am relieved that you are not angry with me."

"I am not pleased that you are in need of protection."

She tilted her head downwards. "Sometimes I feel like such a waste." She looked back up at him. "I can memorize all the wandworking spells that exist, but I will never be able to actually perform them."

"Everyone has their own special talents that can be used." Lord Voldemort didn't sound too worried. He never did. "Severus says that you are a natural at potions."

She chuckled darkly. "I'm sure he didn't use those words."

"Of course not, this is Severus," the Dark Lord smirked before he reached out, gripped her chin tightly and brought her gaze back up to him. "Remember that even if wandwork is out of your reach, you are important. All three of you are."

She nodded slowly. "I know."

His grip tightened. "I do not give out compliments just to ease self-doubt. Remember that."

Her smile grew a little. "I will."

"Good." He cleared his throat. "What is that  _clinking_  sound? Everytime your robes rustle they distract me."

"Oh!" Chloe's eyes widened as she pulled out the two vials of the modified Polyjuice Potion. "I'm finding that the Polyjuice is wearing off a  _lot_  quicker than it's supposed to, especially since this version of it is supposed to last up to two days at best. Because of that I keep a couple of extra bottles with me for whenever I feel the shift start to happen. That way I will have less chances of getting caught like Lana did."

He reached for one of the vials and eyed it in the moonlight. "The effects are wearing off quicker?"

"Yes, and it's not the same time each time either." Chloe made a face. "Once it only lasted 30 minutes." At the Dark Lord's surprised concern she grinned. "I took one of these immediately and no one noticed anything. I'm prepared."

"30 minutes." The Dark Lord frowned. "Have you told Severus about this?"

She nodded. "At first he thought it was a bad brew, but it's happened with each and every brew that I take." She leaned in closer. "I think my body is purifying the potion out of my system, almost like a side-effect of my healing ability. It sees the potion as a foreign element and works hard to get rid of it from my system."

He nodded silently and continued to walk her around the garden before he stopped and motioned with his hand to a bench where someone sat.

Chloe's eyes widened as she recognized the figure. " _Daddy_?"

Gabriel Greengrass stood. " _Chloe_."

Chloe turned to Voldemort and kissed his hand. " _Thank you_!" And with that she slipped away from him and raced to her father, crying in happiness as he caught her in his arms, holding her tightly to him. "I've missed you so much!"

"And I you, my child," he whispered into her hair, pressing kisses to her crown. "I have been worried about you."

"And I of you." She held on tightly. "I'm so happy to see you again-I didn't know when I'd be able to-."

"I hear this is a reward for passing your first test." Gabriel finally pulled away enough to smile proudly into her face. "Do you know how proud this makes me? Your uncle is drinking more now that Lois hasn't passed hers, and Nell is about to pull her hair out because Lana failed hers, but  _you_  have passed." He smiled. "My bright, beautiful girl."

"I was lucky to have Bellatrix as my first tutor, everything she taught me helped me pass the test. I couldn't have done it without her," the blonde admitted, blushing happily from his praise. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, busy reintegrating myself in the fight." Gabe sat her down next to him as Severus and Lord Voldemort walked away together, talking. "I heard there was an attack at Hogwarts?"

"Giant spiders." She nodded. "But everything's fine, and now that Draco knows-."

"Lucius' boy?" Gabe frowned. "Darling, the Dark Lord-."

"He knows, and while Draco wouldn't be his first choice he has given his blessing," Chloe assured, reaching out and holding her father's hand.

Out of hearing, Voldemort and Severus spoke, the vial of Polyjuice Potion held up between them.

"Do your best, Chloe. Prove yourself." Her father brought her attention back to him as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I will make you proud," she promised.

"You always have," he whispered before sighing. "I have to go now. I'm in the middle of…well…you can understand if I cannot say."

Chloe nodded, gulping back the desire to beg him for five minutes more, reaching out and hugging her father tightly. "Be safe."

"You too." His voice wavered as he hugged her and pressed a kiss to the side of her face before standing and helping her up. He drew her close, whispered for her to prove herself to their Dark Lord, and then stepped back before he Apparated.

Chloe stood where she was, staring at the empty space in front of her, missing her father so much more than before. Tears stung at her eyes but she wiped them away and cleared her throat, refusing to be anything but strong.

"It is time to return," Severus murmured behind her.

Chloe twirled on her heel, finding Severus and the Dark Lord behind her. The blonde reached for Her Dark Lord's hand and pressed a reverential kiss to it in gratitude. There was no way a man who was this kind to someone like her would be capable of the evil the Order said he was. He wasn't a monster. He wasn't a soulless beast. He was generous, and every kind act he bestowed upon her made her see it more and more.

The Dark Lord shifted his hand in hers to lift her chin and gaze to him. "Did you enjoy your reward?"

"Yes My Lord." She smiled up at him, so grateful.

He nodded. "Go now, before you are missed."

"Thank you," she whispered before turning and hurrying after Severus. They used the portkey, returned to the meadow, and then entered the tunnel once more, finally emerging into the castle. Severus made his way to his chambers without a word of goodbye, and Chloe headed towards the dungeons. Deep within her warred a mixture of feelings, mostly happiness and sadness. She was so happy she'd gotten to see her father and knew that he was alive and well, and yet it'd also made her miss him even more.

"You've been gone long," a voice declared opposite the entrance to the dungeons. Draco leaned in the shadows, arms folded over his chest. "Makes me wonder what exactly my godfather makes you do during your little detentions."

Chloe jumped, hand to her heart, not having sensed him, and scolded herself for letting her guard down so much. She gazed up at him and didn't even think it through. She two five determined steps towards him and threw her arms around his body as she hid her face in his robes and ordered herself not to cry.

He froze, his hands out at his sides, almost as if he wasn't sure exactly what to do with them. "The bloody hell?"

She didn't answer, just held on.

"Not that I care…" he cleared his throat uncomfortably before resting his hands on her shoulders. "But, uh, what happened?"

As Chloe pulled away to answer she felt the tell-tale tingling of her body as the Polyjuice potion began to wear off.

Around the corner two boys laughed as they drew close.

Draco looked up, cursed, and then used his hands on her shoulders to swing Chloe around into the wall, bringing his mouth to hers as he kissed her, using his body to hide her as he curled in around her.

Chloe gasped into his kiss, eyes flying open wide as she clutched at his robes in shock. He hunched down slightly and the hand behind her neck tilted her face up towards him as he kissed her deeper. She didn't know why fact that he was kissing her and not 'Pansy' made a difference, but it it. While his kiss had shocked her before, now her heart raced and her blood boiled. Before she even realized what she was doing the blonde had closed her eyes and used her grip to pull him into her, deepening the kiss.

The boys stumbled onto them, sniggering about Draco being "the man" and how "Parkinson didn't know what she had coming", while also wondering which blonde Slytherin Draco was making out with right now. They whispered to themselves as they continued down the hall, gave the password, and then entered the dungeons, still snickering.

Chloe didn't notice any of this though, her mind having gone as her hands clutched tightly as Draco, keeping him hard against her. If he ever used this against her she'd tell him that she was making sure that there weren't other people around… and remind him that many of these portraits had eyes and were faithful to Dumbledore. She'd say she was keeping up an act. She'd say she was acting. She'd say…

A whimper escaped her lips as Draco's thigh insinuated itself between hers, the platinum blonde pushing harder against her, pinning her to the wall, both of his palms flat on each side of her head.

Something burned in the pit of her stomach, something wild and aggressive and hungry.

More voices could be heard approaching, causing the blonde to realize that they'd missed a golden opportunity to escape once the boys had disappeared.

A couple of girls laughed, one talking. It sounded like Astoria.

Chloe froze, eyes flying open, not exactly sure why she was more terrified of being found out by the girls.

Draco leaned in closer, if possible, moving his head in such a way as to cover her better, his hands digging deep into her hair and clenching tightly as his mouth plundered hers.

Gasps of scandal could be heard behind them.

Chloe didn't care half as much as she had moments ago, all she really cared about was staying standing, her knees shaking and feeling all gooey.

There was giggles and scandalized whispers as the girls hurried away down the hall, Astoria laughingly wondering if they should tell Pansy or just let her continue fooling herself.

Body horribly warm, breath wet, voice a moan, Chloe finally managed to gather the desire to push Draco away enough to breathe when the girls disappeared into the dungeons. "I-I need-." She reached into her pocket and took advantage of his body shielding her from any gaze as she downed the Polyjuice potion. Immediately her insides started writhing as though she'd swallowed live snakes, making her queasy and sure she'd be sick as a burning sensation spread rapidly from her stomach to the ends of her fingers and toes. She dropped the container the potion had been in and the glass shattered as a horrible melting feeling took over, the skin all over her body bubbling like hot wax as the transformation began. The taste and color of the Polyjuice potion was different depending on the person being turned into, thus her little riddle, and Pansy tasted of pure bitterness that left a bad taste in Chloe's mouth long after the transformation had taken root.

Once she knew she was Pansy again, Chloe slipped out under his arm and ran away, unable to believe that this had happened.

She raced to her bathroom and turned to gaze at her reflection with a gulp. Her lips were swollen, her hair and clothes messy, her eyes shiny. Draco Malfoy shouldn't be able to get this sort of reaction out of her! He was the biggest, more arrogant  _prat_  that ever existed! He'd also never let her live this down! She'd never see the end of that sneer!

The  _hell_  had come over her?

Her fingers rose to her lips, reliving those kisses, those hands in her hair, that body against hers.

Chloe's free hand clenched as she gave a little whimper, her body tingling all over.

This was  _Draco_.

 _Draco_!

Mr Old Houses of Malfoy and Black!

He should  _not_  be able to render her unable to  _think_  with just a press of his lips against hers!

It was ridiculous!

It had to be the fact that she'd been emotionally vulnerable at the time, and with the adrenaline and fear of getting caught…yes…that had to be it.

It  _had_  to be it!

Shaking her head, convincing herself with each shake, Chloe's now brown eyes rose to her reflection-or Parkinson's.

She sighed, still completely unused to this other person whenever she looked in the mirror, and yet this was who she was right now, and she would be this person until the Dark Lord wanted her elsewhere, maybe as someone else completely.

Bellatrix's teachings in her ear, Chloe forced her lips into Pansy's smirk as she flicked her dead straight dark hair and stormed out of the bathroom. She knew that after the little display with Draco outside others would be giggling and whispering to themselves thinking that Draco was already cheating on Pansy, and she'd have to figure out her game plan. How would Pansy deal with that sort of situation?

Those questions kept her busy as she made her way back to the dungeons, the Common Room going quiet (some girls giggling) the second she did.

Draco was sprawled out on his throne, clearly not listening to whatever it was that Crabbe and Goyle were telling him. He looked up when he saw her, a smirk curling his lips as he motioned her towards him with his finger.

Silence reigned in the room as Chloe made her way towards him, fighting annoyance at being summoned like a dog. "Yeah, Drakie-poo?"

A look of utter distaste crossed his face before he smirked at her. "Crabbe and Goyle were just telling me the  _most interesting_  thing."

She highly doubted that. "Oh?"

"Why don't you join us?" He was obviously suffering their company and wanted her to suffer alongside him. " _Darling_." He added, almost as if as an afterthought.

"Oh, I'd love to  _baby_ , but there's no where to sit." She gave him a little "how bad is that?" shrug, turning to leave.

Draco's hand reached out and grabbed her around her wrist, pulling the unsuspecting girl down onto the throne on the triangle between his legs, chuckling at her little shriek as she flailed ungracefully. "There you go  _honey_." His grin was evil. "Now you can stay and listen."

"You're too kind," she mumbled before realizing that Pansy would be eating this all up and not acting all resentful.

Confused looks were on the faces of those around them. Obviously the others had expected some sort of confrontation and weren't sure why it hadn't happened.

Draco leaned against her back, his chin resting on her shoulder as his arms went around her hips, basically trapping her in place. "Go on Goyle."

Goyle closed his mug and cleared his throat, beginning to once more explain whatever he'd been saying.

Crabbe just continued staring at them with his mouth wide open.

Chloe had to admit, seeing them like this was amusing…but what  _wasn't_  amusing was when Draco began to rub his nose softly against the curve of her neck, breathing in her scent. The blonde in raven-haired body felt a jolt of something sear through her body at this, her hands going to his thighs and clasping them tightly. It didn't seem to deter Draco any bit, the platinum blonde having obviously grown completely bored with Goyle's conversation and was distracting himself with her body. She could feel him breathing in her scent as he trailed his nose against her skin, his thighs pressing harder against hers.

Goyle began moving his hands around enthusiastically, deep in his story.

Crabbe just continued to gawk openly at them.

Chloe dug her fingers into Draco's thighs in desperation, that tingling sensation growing unbearable.

Draco was obviously getting back at her for the Drakie-poo comment in front of everyone…the evil little cockroach!

Almost as if he could sense her annoyance, Draco chuckled against her shoulder, giving it a little nip with his teeth.

Something nearly exploded within her, and Chloe gave a little jolt, eyes widening not only at Draco's little hiss behind her, but at what she'd rubbed against when she'd jerked.

Draco was-he- _oh dear god in a mankini_.

"I mean, it's just so big and  _hard_!" Goyle exclaimed about whatever the hell he was talking about.

Chloe gulped, not needing to look around the room to know that they were being observed like a hawk. She forced herself to relax into Draco's hold, to lean into it, to pretend to not feel his… uh... as she gazed at her fingernails in feigned indifference, as if this was something normal and she  _wasn't_  having a little mental breakdown.

"I mean, it was completely driving me bonkers!" Goyle chuckled. "It was just  _there_  for Salazar's sake! It wasn't like I could just, uh, pretend it wasn't!"

It was hard following this story, and the blonde wondered exactly what Goyle was talking about.

"It, uh, um,  _was_  somewhat  _odd_." Crabbe finally managed to stop gawking enough to interject a comment into the conversation. "I mean, bloody idiot is always messing up, but it was  _big time_  this time."

"I'm still trying to figure out  _why_  you think that Longbottom's potion turning his nose into an elephant trunk with a mind of its own would be something I'm interested in," Draco muttered, fingers trailing up and down her upper thigh in a bored manner. "Especially since  _I was there_."

"It's just that I noticed something  _pec_ -pic- _odd_." Goyle tried for a smaller word. "When Longbottom's trunk was flying around it hit this parchment on Potty and Weasel's desk and I saw a glimpse of it before they caught it again. It was a  _map_  and it looked like it was of Hogwarts."

Chloe narrowed her eyes, tense, wondering exactly what Potter and his little minions were doing with a map of Hogwarts. "Are you sure of this?"

"Yuh." Goyle nodded.

"And it had  _names_  of people in Hogwarts, and the names were  _moving_." Crabbe nodded as well. "It was  _so weird_. They're obviously weirder than we thought."

Draco tensed behind her.

Chloe tensed as well.

Oh dear gods.

What if Potter had a map which told him who was in Hogwarts and where they were? Would that same map tell him if she was pretending to be Pansy Parkinson? Was  _that_  why he seemed to be watching her? Or why he'd been there the night of the attack of the spiders? Were they onto her and trying to kill her?

The thought sobered her up and she leaned hard against Draco, subconsciously searching for comfort.

His grip on her tightened.

For this moment in time, Harry Potter scared her more than Dumbledore.

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

Chloe had waited until everyone was asleep to climb out of bed. She'd tiptoed out of the room towards the Commons, and then snuck into the Boys' dorms. It'd taken a couple of sneaks through the different rooms to find which bed was Draco's, but she finally did and crept in through the closed curtains. She'd pressed her hand against his mouth, the sensation had awoken him, and he'd nearly hexed her out of instinct. Thankfully he'd stopped himself in time and had instead muttered a silencing spell before he drew the curtains closed and left them covered in shadows in his bed.

Draco smirked as he raised an eyebrow. "Come to ravage me, have you?"

She glared at him and sat on the bed next to him. "We need to find out more about this map."

His smirk disappeared as he nodded. "If Potter has something that can tell him where certain people are in Hogwarts… that is an unfair advantage which cannot be tolerated."

"What if the magic can read that I'm not Pansy?" Chloe bit her bottom lip. "What if they know about me?"

"Then they would've known about Rosier and Nott when they were switched out, and they didn't do anything." Draco made a face. "You've got to remember that this information came from  _Crabbe and Goyle_ , and they aren't exactly the most reliable of sources."

"But they saw  _something_ ," she pressed. "We'd be fools not to at least investigate it further."

He lay down and nodded as he cushioned his hands behind his head. "And we will, just not tonight."

She let out a sigh because he was right. For now their hands were tied.

"Was it Clark?"

"Huh?"

Draco looked fairly bored. "The muggle you got your 'vast oral knowledge' from."

She snickered at the memory of that conversation. "Why? Are you impressed?"

"Hardly," he scoffed. "I'm thinking whoever 'educated' you really shortchanged you if  _that_  is what you consider 'vast knowledge'."

"Did you just diss my kissing abilities?" Her lips parted in shock.

"Well, I wasn't  _praising_  them."

"You were  _hard_!" And the moment she said that she blushed darkly.

Draco looked at her in shock, as if unable to believe that she'd said that. "Who said that had anything to do with  _you_?"

Ouch. Damn it. That one stung.

"Oh, I see." She raised an eyebrow. "So which one does it for you? Crabbe or Goyle?"

For a moment he obviously didn't understand what she was getting at, and then he sputtered as he went red. "Why does everyone assume I am into blokes?"

She sniggered at that reaction. "He doth protest too much methinks."

"Bite your tongue, Greengrass," his voice was a hiss.

" _Sullivan_." Her mirth was gone immediately.

" _Greengrass_." His smirk proved that he'd said that on purpose to annoy her.

" _Sullivan_." She glared.

He grinned brightly. "Greenie greenie grass."

"You're such a  _child_." And yet she was the one who folded her arms over her chest in a huff.

Someone stretched as they sat up in the bed next to Draco's.

Chloe's eyes widened and she dove under Draco's quilts.

He snickered and was obviously about to remind her that the curtains were drawn and a silencing charm in place, when suddenly footsteps could be heard padding towards the bed. Draco's smile melted, his eyes narrowed, and grabbed his wand once more before he grabbed a pillow and threw it over Chloe's head and arranged himself to be half on top of her and thus hiding her from sight.

Chloe's eyes widened as she found herself laying half underneath him.

The curtain pulled across and a body slipped through before the curtain was closed once more.

"The hell are you doing?" Draco wanted to know.

There was a hesitation, and then Blaise Zabini spoke. "Have you heard anything from Chloe? I know she's the one you're using the Sweetheart Scroll with so don't even try to deny it. Has she said anything about Lana?"

Chloe smiled softly at the realization that Blaise cared for Lana like Lana did for him.

"Why would I know anything?" Draco wanted to know with a growl. "After that failed mission I haven't heard a thing. It's been radio silence."

Blaise groaned and then sat on the side of the bed. "Nott and Bulstrode seem to be back in their original bodies, and no one else seems to have been taken and replaced so… what does that mean?" He sounded like he was palming his face. "Are they not going to send more here for training?"

"It's bloody early morning, Zabini, why do you think I'm encouraging you to creep into my bed space like this?" He gave a little yawn that was highly convincing. "I have revenge against that damned Parkinson to plan, okay? By the time I'm done toying with her heart, that chit will regret ever having been born."

"You're so cruel, Malfoy." Blaise sounded tired. "News is already circulating about you two-timing Parkinson with some other Slytherin, though no one is sure exactly  _who_."

"How is who I shag any of your business?"

Chloe was finding it hard to breathe, and tried to shift subtly without calling too much attention to herself.

"You know what? It isn't. I just thought, for one second, that you'd learnt to actually care about someone other than yourself." Blaise sounded pissed. "Obviously that was my mistake."

"Well, now you know better."

"Piss off, Malfoy." And with that Blaise stormed away.

The second she heard the curtain flap closed Chloe emerged with a large gulp. "Were you  _trying_  to suffocate me?"

"Ungrateful chit, I just helped keep your identity secret." Draco raised an eyebrow down at her. "I'm doing what we've partnered up to do."

He had a point there, and she was only able to glare at him since she had no comeback.

"You're going to have to stay here for a while," Draco warned as he got comfortable next to her. "Blaise is a light sleeper, Until you hear snoring from that bed it's best that you don't leave. If he sees Parkinson leaving after what I just told him he'll know who you are."

She raised an eyebrow as she lay on her stomach. "So I'm stuck here with you?"

"Ungrateful chit," he repeated to himself as he got completely comfortable and stretched.

"You've got a nicer bed than I do." Chloe followed his lead and got comfortable as she laid down and faced him. "Your pillows are even better than mine."

"Of course they are," he huffed as he turned to face her. "I'm a Malfoy. You're, at this moment, a Parkinson."

"Still, the Parkinson's are pureblooded and high enough up the ranks right?"

"Not Malfoy high." Draco made a face. "Not even Greengrass high, which makes Daphne being her minion ironic."

"You see, that's what I don't get. Slytherins don't have friends." She made a face. "I don't think Purebloods have friends either." She moved closer. "It's all about connections and who has the power and who can help you get more power." She sighed. "It's so sad."

"How is that sad?" Draco genuinely didn't seem to get it at all.

That was even sadder. "You don't understand if you've never had it. But to have a friend, a  _true_  friend, means having someone that you know you can trust everything to, that that person wouldn't tell your secrets or—."

"We have hexes that accomplish that," he reminded her.

"Of their own free  _will_." She glared at him. "Friends shouldn't  _have_ to use a hex to make sure that the person with them all the time wont betray them. They should be able to trust them implicitly  _just because_."

"That is so incredibly naive."

She slapped his chest. "You're so horribly jaded, Draco Malfoy." She let out a sigh. "I can tell Lois and Lana anything and know that other than our Lord, no one else will ever know."

"See? They tell him—."

" _No_. He conducts regular mental checks on us and knows everything about us." She wasn't exactly sure why she was telling him all this. "Every single time we see him, even if we've seen him the day before, he conducts those checks."

His eyes narrowed. "So frequently?" When she nodded, his expression grew grave. "That's not healthy for you, Chloe."

"We're fine. He never hurts us." She took in a deep breath. "He knows about you, about my own willful disobediences since he told me not to get close to you due to the fact that you are on the verge of being considered a Blood Traitor."

" _What_?!"

"But despite it all he has forgiven my disobedience and allowed me to have you as an ally in school." She paused. "Even though he admitted to assuming I would choose Nott instead of you."

Draco's features darkened. "Did he, now?"

"It's understandable, since Nott and I have worked together in the past and have proved compatible."

"Compatible." His voice was bland.

"Yes. Very." She remembered that word being used to describe them over and over again by her mentors.

Draco let out a huff and ran a hand down his face. "Blood Traitor."

"Your father has argued that somehow a part of you recognized a witch in me, he's doing his best to undo the damage being my friend has brought to your reputation." She felt partially to blame for all of this. "I'm sorry."

"You should be," and yet there was no heat in his words.

She reached out and gripped his hand under the sheets. "Maybe now, with you helping me, it will prove to all that you aren't a Blood Traitor." She gave him a reassuring smile. "Maybe you're just weak when it comes to me."

He scoffed. "You would wish so."

She grinned teasingly. "Aw, are you blushing?"

He glared daggers at her. "Go die."

She burst out laughing. "You  _are_  blushing!"

He huffed and looked away, but didn't move his hand away from hers.

She smiled up at him and moved close. "How about I make another deal with you?"

Draco's gray eyes slid to hers as he raised a palest blonde eyebrow. "What would you have to offer that I won't already get with our previous deal?"

She smirked and moved even closer as she sat up and gazed down at him. "I will do my best to help you regain your status in the inner Circle. I'll sing your wonders and speak about nothing but your loyalty. I'll make sure that all doubt about your allegiance is erased."

Intrigue colored those grays silver as he tilted his head slightly. "What would you want in return for this?"

"Nothing, for now." Her smirk widened. "If I think about something I'll tell you."

"No deal," Draco scoffed. "You do  _not_  make a deal without knowing what the price is." He grinned up at her. "You're a  _terrible_  Slytherin. What will I ever do with you?"

"Teach me, I suppose." She smiled down at him.

Draco stared up at her and then cleared his throat as he looked away. "Come back to me with your price for your help, and I'll tell you whether I accept it or not."

"Will do," she promised as she held her pinky out towards him.

Blinking, Draco turned to eye her pinky before he gripped it between his fingers and lifted it in question. "What's wrong with it?"

A giggle escaped her lips before she slipped her hand free and then curled their pinkies around each other. "Muggles do this. It's called a pinky promise. This is sacred. It means that I have to keep my word."

The Slytherin Prince stared at her in silence before he snorted and lowered his grays to their entwined pinkies. "Muggles are such weird creatures."

She grinned toothily at him, highly amused.

Clearing his throat, Draco slipped his pinky free. "We should probably use this time wisely and go over our game plan."

"We have a game plan?" She shuffled closer.

"No. We  _need_  one." He cushioned his hands behind his head and looked up at her. "For one thing, you have to stop looking like you're going to jump every single time I touch you. It is not a very Parkinson thing to do. She'd be jumping  _me_. Not the other way around. People will become suspicious if you're so laid back and I am forced to be the one to always approach you."

"So in other words you want me to jump you."

He glared at her fiercely. "I'm saying you need to be like Parkinson if you want this ruse not to arouse suspicion!"

He was right, and that annoyed her. The girl cleared her throat before she nodded. "Consider yourself jumped from tomorrow onwards."

He rolled his eyes. "Also, we need to figure out how to not only confirm whether Potter has this magical map, but how to nick it without him realizing it was us."

Chloe licked her lips. "I have an idea about that first part, actually."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Do tell."

"Well, the modified Amortentia." Chloe grinned. "When Theodore drank it he was in love with me as Pansy. So all I have to do is transform into someone in the school, who we will... cloistered... until the experiment is over, and I get one of the Trio to drink the potion. They'll spill anything for the person they're in love with. Then, once I have all we need, you use a memory charm to erase the whole occurrence from their mind."

Draco stared at her and then grinned. "That's so incredibly underhanded. I'm impressed." He cleared his throat. "Maybe there  _is_ some Slytherin in you after all."

She beamed in pleasure at his rare praise. "I have my moments."

"Who do you think you should impersonate?" Draco wanted to know.

"Lavender Brown."

"Why her?" Draco made a face.

"Have you  _seen_  that girl? She's all bubbles and sunshine. Who would suspect her?"

He grinned brightly. "I see. Good. I'll arrange to have her hair collected for you."

"Do I want to know how you'll do that?" Chloe raised an eyebrow.

"Probably not!" He laughed.

Chloe stared down at him and the smiled. She wanted to ask him why he didn't smile and laugh, genuinely laugh, more often. The way his face softened when he did really suited him, but she knew that to point it out would only make him more self-conscious and put up a greater effort not to do it, so she kept it all to herself and merely enjoyed this side to Draco Malfoy she was sure no one else knew existed.

And then she suddenly thought of something and grinned brightly. "I know my price."

Eyebrow raising, Draco snorted. "That was quick."

Getting more comfortable, Chloe licked her lips. "In exchange for my helping your standing in the Pureblood's eyes... when it's just you and me... I want you to actually  _smile_  and  _laugh_. Not smirk. Not sneer. Not snigger. No. Smile and laugh."

The smirk slipped from Draco's face as he stared up at her in utter confusion. "What sort of idiotic price is that?"

"It's  _my_  idiotic price." She raised her chin, grin in place. "So... do you accept the terms?" The girl held out her pinky towards him.

Draco stared at her in silence, a strange expression on his face. "Is that truly your price? Your  _only_  price?" When she nodded he blinked. "You will  _only_  ask for me to... smile. And laugh.  _Only_  that?" When she nodded again he took in a stuttered breath. " _Why_?"

"Because..." Chloe felt a little embarrassed admitting this. "I like it when you smile, and when you laugh. It makes me happy."

The Slytherin Prince froze and merely stared up at her, that strange expression growing as he gulped loudly. "What sort of Slytherin  _are_ you?"

She merely grinned brighter. "A very  _bad_  one. I thought we'd already established this." She then shook her pinky at him. "Do we have a promise?"

Breath escaping his lips, Draco stared up into her face before his silvery blues lowered to her pinky. "I will not do that ridiculous-." He groaned when she merely shook her pinky harder. With a growl of impatience he reached up and curled his pinky around hers. "I cannot believe you have coerced me into this."

Giggling in amusement at his visible embarrassment, Chloe squeezed pinkies. "It's our sacred promise that can't be broken, no matter what."

He huffed and looked away. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Do you know what this means?" Chloe stared deep into his face.

"That you're still far too Muggle," he muttered.

"Nope." She leaned down over him with a wide grin. "We just made a promise without having a hex back it up."

Draco's eyes narrowed as he only now seemed to realize that.

"That means we're  _friends_." Her grin was ridiculously wide.

Draco stared up at her before he scoffed and looked away. "I wouldn't rush to any such conclusions, Sullivan."

She snickered at him and threw herself down on the bed next to him as her gaze rose to the ceiling. "You liiiike me."

"No I don't."

Her teasing thickened in her voice. "You really really liiiiike me."

"I'd really like you to shut up."

A snore echoed throughout the room.

Draco let out a heavy sigh. "By Merlin's Beard, I thought he'd never go back to sleep!"

"Wow. Zabini really snores." Chloe sat up in bed and turned her head to gaze towards the other bed. "I'll have to warn Lana about that."

"Go on before he wakes up someone and they cast another silencing spell on his bed."

Chloe look back at Draco, winked, and then was gone, sprinting out from the curtains surrounding his bed and out of the Boy's Dorms. She made it to the Commons, grinned as she turned to look back at the Boys' Dorm, and would've turned and headed towards the Girls' Dorms but skidded to a stop when she realized she wasn't alone in the Common Room.

Daphne sat with her knees pressed to her chest in the darkness. "Did you two shag?"

Getting over her surprise, Chloe remembered she was supposed to be Pansy and smirked as she drew nearer. "Were you  _following_  me, Daphne?"

"You snuck out of the dorm, I wanted to know where you were going." Her expression was hard and yet somewhat hurt. "I should have known that you would jump into his bed the second you had the chance." She gulped back her pain. "You probably told him you were using contraceptive charms but aren't just so he'll be forced to marry you once you're pregnant."

Chloe tilted her head to the side, able to see why Daphne would assume that. It sounded like something Pansy would've done had she truly been here in this situation.

"Well, he doesn't love you. He's already cheating with some other Slytherin, I think its someone from the year below us." Daphne raised her chin, angry tears in her eyes. "You're not special to him, Pansy. You never will be."

"Does that really matter?" Chloe raised an eyebrow. "In the whole scheme of things, don't you think it's worth it if I look the other way?" She smirked as she drew nearer. "You don't seem to get what it entails to be the wife of a Pureblooded aristocrat, Daphne. You're being gullible if you think they're faithful to their spouses." She knelt down and looked up at the girl. "But while he might have a tart on the side, I'll be the one with the ring on my finger and the title to my name. I'll be the one who has the children he will acknowledge. I'll have the power and wealth.  _Me_." She reached out and brushed the hair out of Daphne's face in a mockery of tenderness. "Only Muggles marry for  _love_. You're incredibly naive if you think otherwise."

Daphne looked as if slapped.

"Come now, it is late and we should go to sleep." She stood and held her hand out to Daphne.

The girl looked like she wanted to hit it away, or cry, but she instead sighed and placed her hand in Chloe's. "You're right."

"I know." And with that she led the sad, silent girl away.

The blonde within the brunette wanted to hug the other girl, who looked like she wanted to cry, but Pansy wouldn't do that, which meant Chloe couldn't. But she really wanted to comfort the girl who was visibly in need of comforting and yet didn't have anyone who would do that for her. The Slytherins were alone. They were all alone. And damn it, that saddened Chloe. It made her think of Draco and his shock that anyone would just want him to smile and laugh. It seemed unfathomable to him.

Chloe hadn't realized she'd what she'd done until Daphne went still in her arms in shock. A moment of panic filled Chloe as she realized that she was hugging Daphne and that there was no way that Pansy would do this. She cleared her throat, scared it would crack and reveal just how unnerved she was at how out of character she'd slipped. "Tell anyone I did this and I'll hex you so hard your grandchildren will feel it."

The threat seemed to calm Daphne down and she let out a soft, tear-filled chuckle before her arms slowly encircled Chloe and she held on tightly. "Right back at you."

Small smile tilting her lips, Chloe hugged the other girl (who, now that she thought about it, was her cousin) before she finally pulled away and cleared her throat. "Don't be so emotional about this situation with Draco, okay? It's not worth it. Plus the others will see it as a weakness and pounce on you without a second thought." She narrowed her eyes. "Don't  _ever_  let anyone think you are weak. You're a Greengrass. So get those emotions in check before someone else notices."

Daphne eyed her curiously before she tilted her head haughtily. "Please. As if I get emotional."

Chloe snickered. "Exactly."

Daphne's haughty expression morphed into a grin for a split second before it returned to normal. "I lost beauty sleep over you, you trollop."

"I'm sorry, you really  _do_  need it."

"Hey!" Daphne shrieked a laugh as she slapped Chloe's arm.

The two girls shared smirks before they continued the rest of the way towards the dorms in comfortable silence. Chloe realized that the "air" between them had changed somewhat, and she smiled to herself and wondered if she could somehow cunningly coordinate things so that, when Pansy Parkinson returned, she could find that she truly  _did_  have friends.


	7. Chapter 7

The muggleborn's eyes were wide as he stared up at her. "I, uh, I think I've got it."

"Great!" Chloe grinned down at him. "Remember, you have to make it convincing or they're going to know that I didn't actually hex you guys."

The young Gryffindor tilted his head as he eyed her. "Why didn't you just hex us? I mean, you're Slytherin, and we-well-."

"I don't  _want_  to hex you." Chloe rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest. "But if I don't at least  _pretend_  to do so they're not going to rest until something is done to you."

Riley cleared his throat as he eyed her. "You're not what I've always been told Slytherins are like." He licked his lips. "You're... you're nice."

"I won't deny it, we have some proper wankers in our House." Chloe didn't like half of the people she shared the dungeons with. "But not everyone who is in Slytherin, or a Pureblood, are prejudiced and they are definitely not  _monsters_."

Riley nodded rapidly.

Francis pouted. "My father says all Slytherins are evil and that they follow He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

Chloe knelt down and stared at the boy. "There's a war going on, and if you're on one side, the other side will  _always_  be portrayed as if they are the devil."

"The devil?" Christopher blinked. "Who is that?"

"He's what Muggles believe to be the originator of all evil," Riley supplied the answer as he sent Chloe a look. "How do  _you_  know about the devil?"

She eased her face into blankness. "You shouldn't be ignorant about anyone or anything, ever."

Riley seemed to accept that answer and nodded.

"So, this hex..." Francis prompted.

"It will make you have boils and turn you purple, but you won't feel any pain or discomfort." Chloe raised an eyebrow. "That's where your acting skills come into play."

"Right." That was Christopher. "You want us to  _pretend_  we're in pain and ill."

"You'll get time off from schoolwork," Chloe tempted.

The boys' eyes widened. "True!" They shared looks and then grinned before they nodded and all gave her thumbs-up.

Chloe laughed and reached out to rub their heads. "Good. I expect you all to win Oscars with your performance."

"Oscars?" Francis blinked. "Why would we win men named Oscar?"

"It's a Muggle award for actors," Riley supplied the answer with an odd look at Chloe.

"I know everything," Chloe reminded as she pointed to herself and stood. "Boys, the potions will be added to your meals discreetly at dinner tonight. Remember, make me proud and act up a storm."

Riley puffed his chest out. "We've got this covered."

Francis and Christopher nodded their agreement.

She chuckled. "Thank you."

The boys grinned and turned, walking away from the alcove they'd been having their secret meeting in.

Chloe smiled as she watched them go. "They are just  _so cute_." She made to follow when a strange sensation came over her, it was similar to when Harry Potter was around, and she twirled around in a moment of panic, but  _of course_  there wasn't anyone there. That was why she'd chosen up here when she'd sent the message to Christopher.

The girl took in a deep breath and brought her hand to her head as a flash of Harry Potter racing through a maze of sorts pierced through her skull and she cried out and collapsed to her knees. She remained there until the image and the pain disappeared. The girl let out a breath and finally stood, a hand to her nose coming away with blood. "Why is this happening?" She let out a breath and composed herself before she left the room, unaware of the fact that she had not been alone.

* * *

"Potter's looking at me." Chloe leaned close to Draco as they sat in DADA and listened to the professor go on and on about manticores.

"Ignore him, or better yet, sneer at him." Draco's gaze was on the teacher despite the fact that she knew he wasn't paying any attention whatsoever. "He has no business looking at you."

"What if he  _knows_?" Chloe was beginning to feel paranoid.

"If he knew, Dumbledork would know and would've called you in by now."

That was a good point.

Somewhat calmer, Chloe rested her cheek against Draco's arm (she'd promised him he would be 'jumped', hadn't she?) and feigned boredom as she stared at the blackboard in disinterest. She'd learnt all of this already during her time with Lord Voldemort, and she was almost sure that the professor had written a wrong fact on the blackboard, but there was no way she was actually going to point it out. Pansy would not have done so.

"Who was the first person to survive an encounter with a manticore, Ms Parkinson?"

Chloe jumped in surprise at being singled out.  _Rodicus McGregor_. But would Pansy know that? "Well, it was a Gryffindor, for sure. They're the only ones stupid enough to find themselves in that sort of situation."

The Slytherins snickered.

The Gryffindors glared at her.

"The correct answer is  _Rodicus McGregor_." The professor looked far from impressed. "And for your information, he attended school in Durmstrang." He then turned his back on them and continued with the lesson.

Draco leaned closer to her. "That was a good save."

"I thought so too."

"You knew the answer, didn't you."

"Of course I did."

His smirk grew as his silvery blues finally slipped from the professor to her. "Slytherin's secret bookworm."

"Shut up." She smiled back at him, and when she noticed that Potter still watched them, she reached over and pressed a quick kiss to Draco's lips. At his surprised expression she snickered and pulled back. "Jumped. Remember that."

He snickered and shook his head as he returned his attention to the blackboard and casually rested his arm over her shoulders.

They remained that way for the rest of the class.

* * *

Quidditch.

Chloe was never going to understand it.

She stared up as the Slytherins practiced on the field for the next game, which would be against Ravenclaw, and she felt nervous as hell as the bludgers flew around. Not only that, but she'd never actually been on a broom before, and it looked terrifying and unsafe from where she sat on the bleachers watching Draco, who'd assured her that Parkinson came to watch them all the time so now that they were "together" she wouldn't dare miss a single practice. Chloe had gotten some confused looks from Draco's teammates that made her question his declaration, but she ignored it and stayed where she was.

To distract herself, she mentally went over the potion she'd prepared for the "hexing" tonight at dinner. A part of her wished that Theodore knew about her being Parkinson because he excelled in potions, but she already had her ally, and she figured that in the end she preferred having Draco on her side. It made her pause and wonder about that though. She'd liked Theodore, a lot, and had gotten along with the clever Slytherin. They'd been "compatible", and yet, while Draco could be utterly dislikable, she preferred him completely over the other Slytherin.

Maybe it was their shared past, maybe he reminded her of a time when she wasn't hiding for her life from some deranged wizard.

She wasn't sure exactly  _why_  she preferred Draco, she just did. She preferred him a lot.

Up above, a bludger nearly hit Draco in the head and he only managed to dodge it a second before it impacted.

Chloe jumped up and her eyes widened. "KEEP YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME, MALFOY!"

He raised an eyebrow at her before he snickered, did a cartwheel in the air, and continued on.

"Show off," she mumbled darkly under her breath as she sat down and folded her arms over her chest.

Why did people like this game? It was bloodier than rugby! How were underaged people even  _allowed_  to play this? They could get seriously hurt! Did their parents have to sign an agreement allowing them to do so?

She might've known she was a witch for a couple of years now, but the Wizarding World still made no sense to her most of the time. Draco was right, she was still too much of a muggle. She thought like one, and it seemed  _right_ to her. She didn't see what was so  _wrong_  about it. And that was probably one of her biggest issues, she supposed. Maybe if she hadn't been defective, if the seal over her magic hadn't ruined her abilities she'd understand the Wizarding World more and feel more of a part of it. But so far the only sort of magic she could do hurt, it hurt  _so much_ , and magic wasn't supposed to hurt. Then again, considering her lessons with Bellatrix, she'd learnt all the ways magic could hurt, hadn't she?

She wondered how things might've been if that deranged, dangerous Dumbledore hadn't done what he had to Lord Voldemort. If the evil bastard masquerading as an eccentric Headmaster hadn't done what he had her parents wouldn't have had to seal her magic away, they wouldn't have had to flee to the muggle world to keep their lives. She would've grown up a Greengrass, proud of it, and would've attended Hogwarts from the time she was 11 years old. Her magic would be normal. She wouldn't have had to go through torture to teach her to stand unbroken should Dumbledore get his hands on her, wouldn't have to be prepared to die rather than give up Lois and Lana to that psychopath and his murdering henchmen.

Their enemy was truly cunning, and his act genuinely convincing. Dumbledore had the whole school, the whole world, convinced that he wasn't a monster and that Lord Voldemort was. But Chloe knew, she  _knew_ , and she feared him more than she feared anyone else in the whole wide world. She hated him too. Because of him her parents had been exiled, because of him she was defective, and because of him she couldn't have a normal teenaged life. All because of Albus Dumbledore, evil incarnate.

The sound of cheering above her caused her to look up in time to see Draco waving the golden snitch in his hands as he smirked down at her, as if expecting her to fawn over him.

Then again, wouldn't Pansy do that?

And yet Chloe merely smirked and clapped lazily.

He smirked back at her, apparently not disappointed by her lack of explosive reaction.

Chloe watched him as he celebrated with his teammates and then they flew off to change out of their gear. She sighed and got comfortable on the bleachers to wait for him. She must've gotten lost in her thoughts because Draco returned much quicker than she'd have expected, the boy surrounded by his teammates, who all praised him and told him that he was amazing and that they'd beat those "bird-brains" without any problem.

Standing, Chloe made her descent from the bleachers towards the boys who weren't paying her any mind. Jumping down to the ground, Chloe moved towards the group, pushed Crabbe out of the way, and then grabbed Draco by the shirt and jerked the boy (who'd been in mid-sentence) down to meet her lips as she pressed up on her tiptoes. Catcalls rose from the group as Draco froze as she kissed him, the action obviously taking him by surprise. Chloe tilted her head and coaxed his mouth open with hers, her tongue flicking his and causing an instantaneous reaction in the Slytherin Prince as he dropped his broom, anchored his hands onto her hips, and pulled her to him tightly.

He kissed her back, hard, hungry, leaving her breathless as his tongue invaded.

As the catcalls grew she finally pulled away and smirked at the boys as she ran her thumb over her bottom lip and then licked it.

Some of the boys' eyes widened and they gulped.

"That was for catching the snitch in such record time." Smirking, Chloe clutched onto Draco's arm much like Pansy had mentioned she wanted to do. "You boys are going to  _destroy_  Ravenclaw."

Middleton cleared his throat. "When did you become saucy, Parkinson?"

She fluttered her eyelashes innocently at him. "What do you mean? I've  _always_ been this way."

Gaze on Middleton, she failed to notice the warning glare Draco gave him. She  _did_  see Middleton's corresponding blanched terror though, but when she followed his gaze questioningly towards Draco, she found the platinum blonde starting a conversation with one of the Beaters.

Shrugging, Chloe figured it must've all been her imagination.

* * *

That night she sat at Draco's right as they ate with the others in the Great Hall. DADA hadn't been so horrible now that she didn't have to worry about being forced to use a wand (it all seemed more theoretical than anything else) and the other classes which  _did_ require wand use employed the "buddy system" in which she could do the other part of the work and let Draco handle the actual wand-use.

"We  _need_  to do something." Mildred glared at the Gryffindor table. "Those brats have gotten away with too much for too long!"

"Mildred's right." Daphne turned to Pansy. "Why are we still waiting?"

Chloe merely raised an eyebrow from where she was brushing a strand of palest blonde hair out of Draco's face, ever the doting girlfriend as she supposed Parkinson would be. "Patience is a virtue."

"Since  _when_?" Draco raised an eyebrow.

The sounds of screams interrupted dinner as everyone turned to look at the three Gryffindor boys breaking out into boils and turning completely purple. They were really going all out, maybe a little  _too_ much, but Chloe's grin was genuine as the whole of Slytherin burst out in applause and laughter while the faculty raced down to help the boys.

Daphne and Mildred turned their huge grins on Chloe.

The blonde in brunette packaging merely smiled at them innocently. "I wonder how that happened."

Daphne and Mildred shared looks before they threw their heads back and burst out into cackled laughter.

The Slytherin table watched Chloe with growing smirks.

Three people from the Gryffindor table ignored the wailing First Years and watched Chloe too.

* * *

Apparently wizards had their own version of Spin the Bottle.

Chloe found that fascinating as the Common Room celebrated the Gryffindor casualties. She wasn't sure exactly where they'd gotten the Firewhisky from, but they seemed to have an abundance of it stashed somewhere and weren't worried at all that they were going to get caught by the professors.

"So, you spin the wand, and it either gives you a Veritas or a Quest?" Chloe sat on Draco's lap, refusing to admit how quickly she'd come to be at ease in Pansy Parkinson's clingy role. She spoke softly as they watched the group seated on the ground taking turns spinning the wand.

"Basically." Draco's arm was around her and he caressed her hair almost instinctively, his gaze on those playing. "You can set the Veritas or the Quests level from innocent to downright pornographic." His grin grew. "Guess which one the Slytherins use."

Sharing in his amusement, Chloe watched as the wand fell on Mildred and a Veritas lit up in the air with the question:  _Who did you lose your virginity to_?

Mildred's eyes widened and she looked like she was doing her best to keep her mouth shut, like it was a battle, and then she said: "My cousin's boyfriend, Morty."

The whole Commons burst out laughing.

She covered her face in embarrassment and yet didn't leave.

"You go, Milly!" Chloe yelled encouragingly. "Show them you've got game!"

Mildred removed her face from her face and sent a surprised look in Chloe's direction. She then smiled to herself and sat up a little straighter.

"I take it that once you start this game you can't lie." Chloe leaned closer to Draco as her voice lowered.

"You have to touch the wand before you begin, and it gives the players a modified Veritaserum dose that they absorb through their skin," Draco confirmed.

"That is terrible." And yet she was fascinated. "Also sounds like contraband."

He grinned. "Yes, it's a modified wand that is only used for this sort of stuff, and it has properties that would be... frowned on... by most wizards."

"But not Slytherins." She smirked.

He smirked back at her. "Exactly." He then frowned as he caught sight of something and shook his head resolutely.

Chloe followed his gaze to find Blaise motioning for Draco to come over. "He probably wants to ask you about Lana again."

"Exactly." Draco snorted. "I don't want-oh  _sod off_  already, Zabini!"

Blaise, who'd come over while Draco was talking, glared at him. "I  _need_  to speak to you."

"I don't want to speak to you." Draco's free hand rubbed Chloe's thigh provokingly. "I'm enjoying time with my bird."

His  _bird_? Chloe raised an eyebrow.

"If you don't want me speaking about certain things in front of everyone, you will come, now." Zabini's eyes narrowed threateningly.

A muscle jumped in Draco's cheek before he turned to Chloe. "Okay then. Off. I'll deal with him and be back."

Chloe slid off and watched Draco and Blaise go towards the Boys' Dorms.

The girl gazed at the clock and realized that it was about time for her next dose of potion, otherwise she might wake up in her own body, and that just wouldn't do. She figured she should wait for Draco to come back, but who knew how long he would be in there with Blaise? Anyway, she wanted to slip into the Infirmary and talk to the boys, to bring them the chocolate she'd asked one of the House Elves to get for her.

With that in mind, Chloe left the Common Room and made her way towards her bathroom, where she dosed herself up and left the bathroom secure her form would stick. She headed to where she'd asked the House Elf to leave the bag of goodies, and then snuck her way to the Infirmary. Despite the fact that more than a couple of times she felt that she was being watched, Chloe made it to the Infirmary without running into anymore, and even somehow was lucky enough to get there during a time in which Madam Pomfrey wasn't around.

That was why she strolled in and grinned at the three boys on their beds. "You three were brilliant."

In seconds their "woe is us" expressions turned to huge grins.

"I think we were somewhat amazing," Riley grinned.

"I excelled," Christopher boasted.

"Oh please, I was definitely the star in that play," Francis scoffed.

Chloe snickered and placed the bag of chocolates on Riley's bed. "Here you go, boys. Consider these your Oscars, but hide them well because if Madam Pomfrey finds them she'll take them away."

"Yes ma'am!" The three boys grinned brightly at her as they got out of bed to investigate the goodies.

Going towards the door, Chloe hesitated before she turned back towards them. "And a word of advice-try to stay out of the Slytherins' hair. They'll target you all worse than they will others just because you're First Years."

"You'll let us know if anything's coming." Riley grinned at her.

She was shocked at the trust that kid had in her considering when they'd first met he'd thought she would leave him for the giant spiders to eat. She cleared her throat and gave him a huge smile. "Behave, kiddo! I'm not your Guardian Angel you know!" And with that she left the room (just as Francis asked what a Guardian Angel was) and hurried back towards the dungeons as quickly as her feet would take her.

Once again, she had no idea that she hadn't been alone.

The blonde in brunette packing headed back to the dungeons, humming Tick Tick Boom by The Hives as she walked around the hallways, taking advantage of the fact that she by herself as she played the air drums and murmured the lyrics to herself.

"Parkinson!"

She froze when she heard that voice and turned around to see Harry Potter striding towards her. Terror rose in her throat as she realized that she was alone and unable to protect herself. She was open for an attack. Vulnerable. Why had she been so stupid as to come all the way out here by herself when she knew that there could be a map which-?

Harry Potter came up towards her and opened his mouth before he closed it and opened it and then closed it again.

Chloe blinked, still terrified and yet confused. "You wanted something, Potter?"

He turned to her and narrowed his eyes as he pushed his glasses higher up his nose. "Did the Slytherins have something to do with what happened to the First Years at supper?"

Was that what this about? About the prank on Riley, Christopher and Francis?

Chloe cleared her throat and smirked. "I hope so. Seeing those idiots running around screaming in pain made my night."

Potter's gaze went curious before he cleared his throat and his expression hardened. "Leave the First Years Alone."

She stepped up in his space and pushed back the terror in her because Pansy wouldn't be scared of Potter. "Make me." When he did nothing but stare at her she smirked and turned to leave.

"I'm not-." Potter's hand caught her wrist.

...

_"No!" A redheaded woman screamed as she ran in front of a baby boy in a cradle and a jolt of green hit her square in her chest._

...

_"Yes!" A dark haired woman smiled as she held a baby girl in her hands, and somewhere in the room a flash of green erupted brightly._

...

The sounds of both children screaming merged into a godawful, demonic sound.

...

Chloe and Harry pulled away with twin cries as they brought their hands to their heads.

"Don't  _touch_  me!" Chloe jerked her hand out of his, terrified that her horror was visible in her face despite her effort to look angry. "If you ever touch me again I'll-I'll-!" She turned and stormed away as she rubbed her wrist and let her horror show on her face now that her back was to him.

What the hell had just happened?


	8. Chapter 8

"Where were you?"

Chloe entered the Commons to find Draco seated upon his 'throne', a very sour expression on his face. "Something tells me that you and Blaise didn't have a nice conversation." She sat on his throne's armrest and gazed down at him. "Is everything okay?"

A muscle jumped in his cheek. "He's pressing for information on Lana. I said you contacted me but didn't say anything about her, which means that she has to be fine or you would've bored me with the news otherwise."

"Smart," she complimented.

"He's backed off." Draco let out an aggravated breath. "You're failing your mission, by the way."

She blinked and turned to look at him. "Does Blaise suspect?"

"What? No." Draco sneered. "You have admirers. You need to stop that."

Chloe blinked in confusion. "Who exactly are you complaining about?"

"The idiots I play Quidditch with."

"Your teammates," she clarified.

"Those exact idiots." Draco glared. "You're seducing them."

She burst out in laughter. "I am not!"

"Just... don't be so appealing around them," Draco grumbled. "Parkinson was never appealing. Or witty. Or cheekily flirty. Or... Or... She was  _boring_ , okay? People are going to get suspicious."

"So what exactly are you telling me?" Chloe was genuinely confused. "Should I not jump you anymore?"

"I am  _not_  saying that." His glare intensified. "Stop flirting with everyone else. Parkinson only has eyes for  _me_."

"But I am not flirting with anyone!"

Draco snorted. "Please."

"No I'm not!" Her eyes widened.

"Parkinson dotes on  _me_. She doesn't notice any other boy.  _I_  am the center of her world."

A muscle jumped in her seat. "You are so full of it."

"It's the truth and you know it if you really interrogated her like you say you did."

She opened her mouth and then closed it.

"I am doing  _you_  a favor, remember that." His voice was a snarl. "If you don't have the commitment to see this through-!"

"Oh, just shut  _up_ already!" Chloe eased herself down onto his lap once more and tugged him down to kiss her, hard.

He didn't need any urging. His hands gripped her face and held her still as his mouth plundered hers, the feeling of him teasing her bottom lip caused her to whimper into his mouth and shift on his lap so she could kiss him better. He was angry, she could taste that on his lips, and the deepness of that anger surprised her. But she lost all thought when he whimpered her name,  _her_  name, against her lips and took the kiss deeper.

She slipped so that she straddled his hips, her knees pressing deep into the cushion of his throne as she tilted his head backwards so she could kiss him deeper. With his throat elongated, his head tilted back, he almost seemed vulnerable to her, and she enjoyed the sensation as she loomed over him and kissed him harder. Her hands slid from his jaw to his hair and gripped hard.

Something inside of her coiled in pleasure, and while a part of her knew she was doing this to play Girlfriend!Parkinson, another part was lost in the feeling, the pleasure, the need, and kissed him with growing urgency. Chloe was kissing him, not pretend!Pansy.

The sound of someone yelling drew them apart, Chloe's gaze lowered onto his darkened silvers.

"Draco! Come play with us!" Someone yelled.

"You too, Parkinson!"

Chloe's heart skipped a beat at the look on his face. Shaken, she turned to the others but Draco grabbed the back of her head and pulled her back in for a steamy kiss that left her tingling all over as he gave everyone the two finger backwards V salute, which she'd learnt was the British equivalent of flipping the bird.

The students snickered.

Chloe pulled away enough to breathe, her eyes on his as she breathed heavily, her voice soft. "So, do you think they believe Parkinson still only has eyes for you?"

Draco cleared his throat. "We should be thorough, just in case there's any sort of doubt lingering in their minds."

Her lips curled and she surged forwards to kiss him.

The rest of the evening was a blur and tasted of Draco Malfoy.

* * *

She'd stolen some of the modified Amortentia she'd made for Snape and hoped he wouldn't notice that there was a good amount missing from the large container. She'd put the potion into some chocolates which rested in a pocket in her robes. It would be easy to administer it like this. She'd also gotten the antidote so that she could give it to their victim after they'd gotten all they needed. Draco, for his part, produced some of Lavender Brown's hair  _and_  a Gryffindor uniform. Chloe decided not to ask him where he'd gotten them from. She also didn't ask who had Lavender or where she was being kept until this was over.

She'd waited for her current batch of Polyjuice to wear off, and then took the vial with Lavender's hair. Unlike with Pansy (in which the potion was bitter and filled with the taste of resentment) Lavender's tasted of sugar and sunlight. It was such a difference that it shocked Chloe.

Draco's eyebrow rose. "Ready for this?"

She played with her dirty blonde hair as she stared at herself in the mirror before she turned to him. "How do I look?"

He eyed her up and down. "Like bloody Lavender Brown."

Rolling her eyes, Chloe flipped the dirty blonde curls behind her shoulder as she moved towards the door. "You should leave afterwards. We shouldn't be seen together."

"Ashamed of a dalliance with a Slytherin, how  _Gryffindor_ of you."

Ignoring him, Chloe moved to the door and took in a deep breath as she left the bathroom. The girl was in the process of trying to figure out how to find the Gryffindor Common Room  _and_  get inside considering it was password protected, when Parvati Patil, Lavender's equally giggly best friend, found her.

"Lav, you will  _not_  believe what is happening in the Commons!" Parvati grabbed her hand and yanked Chloe behind her, the girl not sure to what she owed this incredibly luck but went along with it anyway as they hurried up to the seventh floor of Hogwarts Castle. They stopped in front of a portrait of a fat lady, who ignored them in favor of singing opera, poorly.

"Flibbertigibbet!" Parvati tried for the hundredth time.

"Oh, just go in!" The Fat Lady harrumphed. "You're ruining my solo!"

The portrait swung open to reveal a circular hole which led to the Common Room.

As she entered the Gryffindor Tower, Chloe compared it against the Slytherin Dungeons and could feel Dumbledore's favoritism like a slap to the face.

The Slytherin Dungeons were just what they were called, dungeons. They were furnished with greenish lamps and chairs. The dungeons extended partway under the lake and gave the light in the rooms a green tinge. Often the giant squid appeared at the windows, and sometimes more interesting creatures could be seen. The sound of swishing water was incredibly relaxing at night. The Common Room had a lot of low backed black and dark green button-tufted, leather sofas, along with skulls and dark wood cupboards. It was decorated with tapestries which featured the adventures of medieval Slytherins. Considering that its password changed every fortnight (like with every House) the new password was posted on the noticeboard. While it had a grand atmosphere, it was undoubtedly a cold one.

In contrast, the Gryffindor Common Room, Gryffindor Tower in a whole, was bright and sunny and an incredibly warm and inviting place to be. It was someplace where the students could relax after a long day of studying. It was full of squashy armchairs, tables, and a bulletin board where school notices, ads, and lost posters were posted. A window looked out onto the ground of the school, and a large fireplace dominated one wall. And speaking of the walls, they were decorated with scarlet tapestries which depicted witches and wizards, but also various animals.

With the stark differences between the Houses shown to her, she felt her hatred for Albus Dumbledore grow.

"Look!" Parvati drew Chloe out of her dark thoughts.

The Slytherin in Gryffindor clothing didn't notice whatever it was that Parvati thought she might want to see, all she had eyes for were the trio of teenagers arguing.

"I don't understand you!" Harry Potter threw his hands up. "Why are you against this?"

"You know very well!" Ron Weasley glared at him. "You know what we need to do!"

"This isn't your choice to make, Ron." Hermione took in a deep breath.

"Why is it always  _his_  choice?" Ron pointed at Harry angrily as he glared at Hermione. "Because he's the Bloody Almighty Boy-Who-Lived?"

Chloe watched Harry Potter storm off, Hermione Granger hurrying behind him after sending Ronald Weasley a scolding, disappointed look.

Ron stared after them and shook his head angrily as he threw himself onto a sofa, darkness in his expression.

It would seem there was trouble in paradise.

And it seemed to be something that happened regularly, because the other students ignored the situation.

Smile tilting her lips, Chloe ran her fingers through Lavender's dirty blonde curls, forced her smile to be less cunning and more open as she hurried over to him. "They shouldn't have said those things to you."

Ron looked up at her in surprise. "Hello, Lavender."

She sat down next to him and placed her hand on his, remembering Bellatrix's lessons as she stared up into his eyes to fake a connection. "They don't appreciate all that you do for them."

Ron shrugged and looked away. "What do I contribute, really? Harry's the all-powerful wizard and Hermione's the all-knowing witch. Me? I'm just the bumbling idiot that chases after them and can never hope to actually catch up with them unless they slow down to let me."

There was genuine pain in his words, and Chloe found herself squeezing his hand and fighting a true desire to actually comfort him. She understood all-too well being in the shadow of those you loved the most. "Would you like to take a walk?"

He looked up at her in surprise. "Where?"

"Anywhere with fresh air." She grinned and got up, using her grip on his hand to pull him up with her. "Come on. According to Professor Trelawney the moon tonight is supposed to be unforgettable."

"Why do you like that quack so much?" Ron nevertheless let Chloe (or, well,  _Lavender_ ) lead him out of the Commons and through the hallway. "You know she's barmy, right?"

"Professor Trelawney is highly gifted, we can all only hope to one day be as enlightened as she is." Chloe walked passed Draco as he talked to Goyle, and ignored his narrowed gaze, since this wasn't a part of the plan. "Besides," she turned to grin up at Ron as she squeezed his hand, "we're not here to talk about  _me_ , we're going to talk about  _you_."

"Why do you want to talk to me all of a sudden?" Ron eyed her curiously.

"Who says it was all of a sudden?" Chloe asked in a flirty tone.

He blinked and turned pink to the tips of his ears as he looked away. "Oh."

They finally made it out of the castle and unto Hogwarts grounds, the moon large and beautiful above them. "Isn't it breathtaking?"

Ron looked up at the sky, not terribly impressed. "It's the moon."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "You are no romantic, Ronald Weasley."

He flushed darker and looked up at the moon, really looked. "I, uh, guess I can see why you'd think it pretty."

Lips curved in an amused smile, Chloe laughed. "Okay, let me give you an inside look into a girl's mind... or, well,  _most_ girls' minds." She didn't know why she was doing this, why she wasn't giving him the chocolates. "Girls like moonlit strolls, flowers, chocolates, and some girls like sonnets written about them. I am not one of the girls who like sonnets because, let's be honest, Lord Byron is dead and gone."

"Lord Byron?" Ron blinked. "Who is that?"

Right. He'd been a muggle. "He was a muggle poet."

"I didn't know you knew about muggle things." Ron sent her a surprised look. "Most Purebloods don't."

Chloe used the same explanation she had with Riley. "You shouldn't be ignorant about anyone or anything, ever."

Ron's eyes widened.

She tilted her head at him curiously. "Is everything okay?"

"Uh- _yeah."_ Ron cleared his throat and looked away. "Uh, my, uh, my dad is fascinated with all things muggle."

She grinned. "He must  _love_  Hermione."

Ron made an odd face. "He wants me or one of my brothers to marry her one day." He then paused and looked surprised at himself for something.

"I see." She sent him a sidelong gaze. "Can I show you something? You probably already know about it, but I still want to take you there."

He looked extremely hesitant, but gulped and nodded. "Sure."

Grin growing, Chloe tugged on his hand as they began to make their way through the courtyard and out towards the lake. She kept the conversation going as they traversed the grassy hills. "Why do muggle things interest your father?"

Ron sent her a weary look. "If you're insinuating that he's a Blood Traitor-."

"I hate that word." That was out before she could stop herself.

Ron's eyes widened in surprise. "Why?"

She realized she really couldn't answer that question without giving things away. "Well, I might be called a Blood Traitor if I explain, so I'd rather not."

Some of Ron's weariness visibly turned to curiosity.

"We're here!" Chloe grinned as she pointed towards a small, circular grove of trees. "Come on, it's inside there." She placed her finger to her mouth in a "be silent" move and dragged Ron into the grove. It was dark, but when he raised his wand, probably to whisper a lighting charm, she pushed his hand down and then looked up.

Ron's eyes were narrowed, and his body tense, but he looked up as well nonetheless, and then all of his tension seeped out of his body. "Bloody hell."

The sound of his voice caused the creatures surrounding them, nesting in the trees, to flutter worriedly.

Chloe covered his mouth with her hand to keep him from frightening them away. She then motioned to the grass and laid down.

Ron eyed her before he followed suit and (while still keeping his wand in his hand) gazed up above them.

She stared up at the enclosed grove with the tiny firefly-like creatures which glowed multiple different colors all around them. She'd discovered this place while trying to get away from the darkness of the dungeons, and she'd found the solitude and comfort she'd needed here.

Ron stayed silent and watched as the creatures, slowly getting used to their presence, began to dance around in the air in beautiful harmony.

Chloe forgot why she'd brought Ronald Weasley here, or that he was an enemy and best friends with Dumbledore's greatest warrior: Harry Potter.

She didn't know how long they stared there, but she felt all tension disappear from Ron as he pocketed his wand, and cushioned his arms behind his head. He chuckled softly and kept his brown gaze on the lit dance above them.

Two lights accidentally bumped into each other, and the insects circled each other, clearly in a huff.

Chloe and Ron turned to look at each other and laughed softly before they returned their gaze above them.

Outstretching her hand, Chloe waited for one of the insects to brave flying around her before landing on her finger.

Ron's eyes widened in shock and he sat up to get a better look, scaring the creature into flying away. "Sorry."

"It's okay. They'll come back." She grabbed his hand and outstretched it, palm-up.

"I don't-." And yet Ron's eyes widened as another light circled before landing on his palm. "Wow." And then another joined, and another, and another, and then they were dancing over his palm. "This is bloody amazing!" Ron turned to face her, eyes wide and grin large.

"Glad to see you're in better spirits." Chloe let go of his hand and lifted her own palm, and soon she too had a large group dancing around her.

Ron's gaze rested on her. "Why did you bring me here? Why did you show me this?"

She took in a deep breath. "I don't know."

He tilted his head as he eyed her, clearly conflicted over something.

Suddenly two bodies burst into the grove, wands out, yelling something Chloe couldn't hear in the commotion.

The abrupt movement scared her and Ron, and terrified the creatures, who shrieked audibly and raced up and out of the grove.

Chloe's eyes widened as she stared at the business ends of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger's wands.

"What the devil are you  _doing_?" Ron hurriedly sat up and brushed his hands over his trousers.

"We saw lights-we were worried." Harry Potter hesitated before he lowered his wand, green eyes on Chloe. "Sorry for scaring you."

She was terrified, this was the boy who would probably be her assassin. "You scared away the insects."

"Insects?" Hermione looked around her curiosly. "What insects?"

"They were little glowing balls, almost like fairies but not." Ron glared at his friends. "You scared them away."

Harry and Hermione shared looks.

Ron turned to Chloe. "Thank you."

She wasn't exactly sure what he was thanking her for, but grinned up at him nonetheless because Lavender Brown grinned, and giggled. The blonde realized she hadn't giggled much while impersonating Lavender, and that made her uneasy, but she figured that it really didn't matter. Harry Potter had a map which told him who was on Hogwarts grounds, and he knew that she wasn't Lavender Brown. That was the only explanation for how they'd found her and Ron so quickly and why they'd come in wands ablazing.

The realization that they knew who she said she was, and where she was at every moment of the day and night, left her breathless in terror, but they didn't seem to realize that she knew about them, and they didn't seem about to do anything yet. That was good. That gave her an advantage in this little game of intrigue they were indulging in.

Standing as well, Chloe latched onto Ron's arm, surprising the threesome. "Walk me back, Ron."

His gaze went to his friends before he looked down at her and nodded with a small smile. "Sure Lavender."

As she let him lead her back to the castle, Chloe giggled and acted as Lavender-ish as she could. The box of chocolates in her cloak's pocket weighed heavily and she found herself relieved that she hadn't had to resort to using the Amortentia. She really hadn't enjoyed it when she'd used it on Theodore.

"You're not coming to the Commons?" Hermione asked when they reached the Great Hall.

Harry eyed Chloe silently, as he had throughout the whole walk.

He unnerved her so horribly.

"No thanks, I've got to talk to Professor Trelawney about the appearance of a manticore in my divination ball." She grinned as best as she could. "See you guys back at the Commons later!" And with that she squeezed Ron's arm (which she hadn't let go of as yet) and gave a little wave before hurrying down the hall away from them.

Behind her she could hear whispered conversation but she didn't care, her heart throbbing painfully in her chest. She needed to find Draco, urgently. She couldn't stay in Hogwarts any longer.

She wasn't sure where to find Draco, but she didn't have to search for him long. As she turned a corner she was grabbed and thrown hard against the wall, Draco Malfoy glaring at her.

"What the bloody hell do you think you were doing going off alone with that wanker?" Draco slammed his hands against the wall on either side of her head, his icy blues were silver with rage. "Where did you go? I couldn't follow because of damned Goyle!"

"I-," Chloe's eyes widened when she heard voices coming towards them. They were Slytherin voices and she was in her Gryffindor disguise.

Draco gave a little growl before he turned to her. "Play along."

"Huh?" The girl looked up at him in confusion.

His face transformed into a sneer as he looked down at her. "You're not smart to go scampering on your own."

An eyebrow raised until she got what he was doing. "Y-you don't s-scare me Malfoy!"

And that was what the Second Year Slytherins walked in on.

"Want a taste of the dark side?" Draco leaned in closer.

She wasn't prepared for his kiss, and her eyes widened when he did. For a split second she forgot that she was supposed to be Lavender and just wanted to pull him closer, but thankfully she remembered and pushed him off of her with a little cry (pretending to see the Seconds Years only then) and dashed away. Thankfully she did so in the direction of Severus' chambers. The Second Years praised Draco behind her.

Chloe banged on Snape's door.

Professor Snape answered it quickly and glared at her menacingly. "There better be a good reason for this visit, Miss Brown, or I will take off so many points from Gryffindor that-."

Chloe pushed into the room and closed the door behind him. "It's me."

He raised an eyebrow in question before those eyes widened as he understood. " _Miss Greengrass_?"

"I have to get out of here, Severus." She clutched at her chest. "Potter has a map that tells him who is on Hogwarts grounds and where they are." Her eyes were wide in fear. "He knows about me. I don't know why he hasn't attacked yet, but  _he knows_."

Severus' eyes narrowed and he hissed something under his breath before he reached for his cloak. "We have to spirit you out of the castle, now."

"Why aren't you asking more about the map?" Chloe asked in confusion.

"It isn't the first time I've heard about this map." Severus' face twisted in almost pain. "Li-someone I knew once, a very long time ago, told me something about this, but I didn't believe that such a thing could truly exist. And then so many years passed I couldn't fathom it was still here." He narrowed his eyes. "You must leave Hogwarts,  _now_."

"But Draco-." Chloe's eyes widened.

"Mr Malfoy's assistance is no longer needed." Severus grabbed her arm.

"But I-." She hadn't said goodbye. She didn't even have her Sweetheart Scroll with her. How could she converse with Draco if she didn't have her Sweetheart Scroll? "I need to get-."

"We need to go.  _Now_." Severus' voice was final. "I will tell Mr Malfoy of the switch when I come back with the true Ms Parkinson. But we need to go,  _now_."

She didn't want to. She wanted to tell Draco herself. She wanted-she wanted-.

But in the end, what she wanted didn't matter. It never had.

The girl lowered her head and followed as the Potions Master stepped out of his room.

Even as she followed him towards the secret exit, Chloe kept looking back, hoping against hope that Draco would've known she'd come here, that he'd have come after her.

That she could say goodbye.

But in the end it wasn't meant to be, and Chloe left Hogwarts without seeing Draco Malfoy.


	9. Chapter 9

"And then Severus spirited me out of Hogwarts." Chloe stood before the Dark Lord and recounted the events which had led to her escaping the castle.

"This was an oversight on Severus' part which will not be overlooked." Lord Voldemort's scarlet eyes narrowed.

Chloe's greens widened. "He didn't know-."

"He  _did_." A dark look passed over the face of the leader of the Death Eaters. "Even if he did not believe this map truly existed, it was his duty to inform me of its possible existence nonetheless."

Chloe gulped, worried that she had gotten Severus in trouble. "As soon as he realized that it was real he got me out of there."

"His actions were too late. He could've compromised everything, and as such he will be dealt with punishment." There was no leeway in the Dark Lord's tone.

"He has always been a faithful servant," she reminded softly.

Lord Voldemort nodded. "This is why he will keep his life."

Dread filled her but she tried to push it back. She really hadn't meant to get Severus in trouble, and guilt ate at her. She hadn't thought that the Dark Lord would turn this around to focus on Severus' failing to tell him about this map of Potter's. That wasn't the issue. The issue was that Potter  _had_  a map with that sort of power. Why couldn't the Dark Lord see that?

Wordlessly, as if able to see the questions on her face, Lord Voldemort reached out and grabbed her chin. He lifted it so that his scarlet gaze met her green one and she felt him invade her mind a split second before agony raced through her. She screamed and fell to her knees while she clutched at her head, which felt as if it were about to rip apart. Blood gushed from her nostrils and landed on the stone ground beneath her, staining it red.

Images too fast for her to make out raced before her eyes. One image suddenly, inexplicably, stood out from amongst the rest. It was that of a face, dead and deformed, twisted and visibly hungry as it lashed out before it was lost once more in the flood of sounds and sights. She held on tighter to her head, yanking out clutches of hair in her agony and confused desperation.

She must've passed out from the pain sometime around then because one minute she was clutching at her head and screaming a plea for the pain to stop - and the next she sat up in bed with a large gulp of air.

Sitting up, Chloe brought her hand to her head and took in a deep breath. The memory of the throbbing agony and confused terror made her breathless, and the vision of that twisted, terrifying face made her queasy. What had happened to her? Why had it happened? Lord Voldemort had merely tried to read her mind, something he did constantly with no sort of side effect, so what had caused whatever had happened? Was she cursed? Had she been hexed? Had Potter done something to her? But what? And to what end? Also, she'd never given him the opportunity to hex her. It couldn't be Potter. This couldn't be his doing. But if it wasn't - then what was going on?

"It would appear that you are in a fragile mental state."

She jumped and cried out in fright before she realized that the voice belonged to Lord Voldemort. The leader of the Death Eaters sat in the darkest corner of the room, which was why she hadn't noticed him when she'd awoken.

"It was not my intention to frighten you." He eyed her as he arose from the chair and made his way towards her bed. "I merely watched over you until you awoke to make sure that you were well. The mediwitch assured me that you would be, that all you needed was rest, but I wanted to make sure of her words with my own eyes."

"What happened?" She brought her hand to her head.

He hesitated. "I will be refraining from delving into your mind for a time. I cannot understand why, but you are reacting negatively to it."

"A fragile mental state," she echoed his words from before. "Does that mean that I'm somewhat insane?"

He gave a mirthless chuckle. "The insane never worry about such things."

She could see his point and relaxed slightly. "Then why am I "mentally fragile"? I don't understand."

He watched her in contemplative silence before he reached out and placed his hand on her forehead. "I believe the stress of your training with Bellatrix, coupled with your mission, and then your time in Hogwarts was too much for you."

"I'm not a mentally weak person." Her eyes narrowed at him. "Even when I thought I was a muggle I was nearly killed every other Thursday because of the trouble I got into. I could handle what I went through then and I could handle what I went through with Bellatrix, the mission, and Hogwarts." She heard the defiance in her voice and flinched, head lowering in deference and repentance. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean-." She closed her eyes tightly and took in a deep breath. "I can't accept that answer. My mind is all I have left that isn't defective."

He was silent.

She flinched at that silence. "I apologize for my disrespect, My Lord. I spoke out of line."

"I will forgive you this once." The warning was there in his tone.

"Thank you." She felt horrible. After all he'd done for her and she'd run her mouth like that! What was  _wrong_  with her? "My Lord - how am I supposed to pass Severus' test if I cannot attend Hogwarts anymore?"

"You've already passed as far as I am concerned."

Her eyes flew open and she looked up at him in surprise. "But I was discovered by the enemy! And I never got to use the modified Amortentia!"

"The only reason you were discovered was due to their use of a magical map, one which we should've known about and protected you from." Lord Voldemort's face was stony. "You were put in danger. That is unacceptable and unforgivable." His hand shifted to her chin as he raised her gaze to meet his scarlet. "Despite this, you kept your disguise intact, successfully brewed the potions Severus tasked you to brew, discovered the existence of the enemy's map, and swayed young allies from Gryffindor to fool their own for you. Had you stayed longer you may have been able to recruit them for our side - it would not be the first time Gryffindors saw the truth to our mission and joined our noble cause." He sneered. "True, one was a mudblood, but still he served his purpose."

Chloe fought the urge to frown at the 'mudblood' comment.

"You have shown more and more potential with each test we put you through." He rested his free hand on her shoulder. "You will rest here, with me, at my side. I will see to it that you grow strong once more."

Chloe stared up into his face before she smiled and nodded. "I would like that."

* * *

She missed talking to Draco.

A week had gone by since she'd been spirited out of Hogwarts, and without the Sweetheart Scroll she had no way of communicating with him. She missed him like hell, and it shocked her. He'd just been an annoying ally, and yet she'd grown so used to having him, to being with him. Now that he was gone (or she was gone) she felt like there was something missing.

A part of her wondered how Draco was handling things with Pansy. She knew that the plan had been to break up with the girl once Chloe was gone, but maybe Draco had found that being with Parkinson wasn't that bad. Maybe he was still with her.

Why did that bother Chloe so much?

She tried to be subtle about it when she saw Severus next (she'd been relieved to see that he was well - whatever Lord Voldemort had done to him mustn't have too been terrible), but from the look he'd given her she felt she was completely transparent to him.

"I never did get the chance to tell young Mr Malfoy about the switch." Severus pursed his lips. "I had meant to tell him first thing in the morning, but when I awoke I heard all the staff talking about the 'disastrous' happening and realized that I didn't need to bother."

"Disastrous happening?" Chloe leaned further towards him in intrigue. "What happened?"

"It would appear that Mr Malfoy was out when Miss Parkinson returned. Of course her memories were altered so that she 'remembered' the relationship they shared." Severus looked highly annoyed at having to gossip with her about these sorts of things. "From what I overheard, she flung herself at him when he returned to the Commons. I do not know whether you have a particular way of kissing, Miss Greengrass, and I do not care to know if you do, but my godson seemed to know that she was not you." He gave a tired sigh. "He broke up with her in a terrible fashion. Apparently she's been inconsolable in her room for days ever since."

Chloe felt a little bad for the other girl. None of this had been her fault.

"Young Mr Malfoy then found me in my chambers and demanded to know what had happened, why you had switched, and why he hadn't been informed." Severus looked more and more annoyed. "I informed him of what was necessary - your safety had been compromised - and refused to answer his subsequent questions as to where you were and with whom."

So, Draco worried about her, even if just a bit, and the realization made her grin. But it didn't make her grin as much as the realization that he'd been able to tell her apart from the real Pansy Parkinson. She didn't understand why, but that made her very,  _very_  happy.

* * *

"His wandwork is exemplary." Chloe tried to insert little praises about Draco whenever she was alone with Lord Voldemort (which was actually quite a lot). She knew she wasn't being subtle about it but she didn't care. The next time she saw the Slytherin she wanted him to smile, and wanted to have earned it. "He's also one of the best graded in Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"Is he now?" Lord Voldemort was going over some books.

"Yes." She sat by his side with a book of her own opened on her lap. These last couple of weeks she'd spent by his side (most of the time at least - there were still meetings with the inner core that he attended by himself) and she could feel that she was growing stronger once more. Maybe he'd been right. Maybe the stress had gotten to her, but she didn't like thinking about that. It was probably why she tried to distract herself by implementing plan: Help Draco. "And he excels in charms."

There was a knock on the door, and when Lord Voldemort gave permission for entry, Lucius Malfoy did just that. He looked a hundred years older than he had the last time Chloe had seen him, but he also looked jubilant. "I did it, My Lord! She is a Pureblood lady!" He then paused and backtracked. "She can  _pretend convincingly_  that she is a Pureblood lady."

Chloe grinned in excitement. Lois had finally passed the Malfoys' tests! That was amazing!

Lord Voldemort leaned back in his seat and looked at Lucius. "Considering that you are merely teaching social graces one wouldn't have thought that it would've taken you this long to finally graduate your first pupil."

Lord Malfoy flinched.

"But we  _are_  talking about Lois, My Lord." Chloe felt bad for Draco's father as she turned and placed her hand on Lord Voldemort's arm. "I love her dearly, but I know that she isn't a lady and would  _resist_  becoming one." She turned a brilliant smile on Lord Malfoy. "I believe that Lord Malfoy has done an exceptional job if he's managed to at least teach her how to feign being a lady."

Lord Malfoy sent the Dark Lord a quick look before he lowered his head. "Thank you."

Chloe smiled and turned to look at the Dark Lord once more.

Lord Voldemort let out a sigh and nodded. "Congratulations are in order, Malfoy." He raised his chin. "As Miss Rosier has yet to pass her exam, and Severus will have to tend to his next student over the school break, Miss Gaunt will come here while you will take Miss Greengrass."

Chloe had to admit that while she'd enjoyed the time by Lord Voldemort's side, she was extremely excited to get to know not only the place that Draco had grown up in, but his mother as well. She'd heard nothing but vague details about Narcissa Malfoy from Lucius and Draco, and only seen her from far at the Death Eater banquet. Chloe wanted to meet the woman and see what she was truly like. Of course, she was slightly intimidated by the thought of meeting the woman behind both Lucius and Draco, but she didn't back down from challenges, ever.

Lord Voldemort's scarlet eyes were narrowed on Lucius. "I do not have to remind you that she's been in a delicate condition since her stay in Hogwarts."

"Of course not, My Lord." Lucius bowed his head.

"And, of course, I have no need to remind you of her importance." Lord Voldemort reached out to run his long fingers through her hair, his eyes never leaving Lucius' face, his expression hard. "Or that her safety is to be your most pressing concern." His long, pale fingers lifted a strand of her blonde hair, his gaze still on Lucius. "If one strand of hair is touched, Lucius, you will not like the consequences."

Lucius bowed even further. "We will guard her with our lives, My Lord."

"See that you do."

Chloe looked between them, unhappy with this dark, threatening air. She forced a smile on her face and cleared her throat as she addressed Lucius. "Will I have to walk around with piles of books on my head?"

Voldemort turned his gaze on her in question. "Books?"

"Lois asked me the exact same thing." Lucius' expression was a mixture of confusion and despair as he rose from his bow. "Why is it that when faced with our prospective tutelage, the imagery of walking with  _books_  on one's head comes to mind?"

"It's a muggle thing," she admitted sheepishly. "In all of our movies and such whenever someone goes through a transformation to become a lady, she is usually forced to walk around with books on her head." She blinked. "They  _also_  show people tied to chairs by scarves while being forced to eat with their shoulders straight."

Lucius covered his face with his hand quite an undignified manner.

Lord Voldemort gave Chloe a look which was half amused, and half scolding.

Chloe merely smiled up at Lucius and wondered if she would still be in Malfoy Manor when school let out in a month for holidays.

* * *

In the Gryffindor Common Room, very late into the night, three students sat by the fireplace, their voices lowered as they congregated over the Marauders' Map.

"It's definitely Parkinson now." Harry Potter fought the wave of disappointment as they gazed at the distinct "Pansy Parkinson" on the map. Before, whenever they'd physically see Pansy Parkinson, the map would either say a random mix of alphabets, or merely register an extremely faint dot. It'd taken them, or, well, Harry, forever to see it. They wondered if it'd been this way when 'Mildred' had been here. They hadn't even noticed it at first, it'd been right in front of them and yet they hadn't noticed it at all, almost as if magic was keeping them from seeing something which should be so obviously wrong. If they hadn't seen 'Mildred' rushing towards Snape's chambers and then  _changing_  into someone else before she could reach the door and the safety behind it… well… they wouldn't have started trying to search the map for clues as to what was going on and who was using Polyjuice to replace Mildred. They couldn't find a dot which said Mildred Bulstrode or otherwise. Sometimes, while searching for the dot, they'd forget what it was they were searching for. And that only confirmed that there was magic at work. And considering the imposter had been running to Professor's Snape's chambers, obviously he was involved in this situation somehow.

They'd gone to Professor Dumbledore about the situation, about Snape's obvious treachery, but other than ordering them not to tell anyone else about this, Dumbledore had ushered them out of his office and done nothing. It was why, when they'd noticed Pansy Parkinson suddenly frequenting Snape's chambers (and then Harry discovered that her dot on the map was a mix of alphabets) they hadn't even gone to Dumbledore. Instead they'd taken it upon themselves to follow and observe this obvious imposter with the use of Harry's invisibility cloak. They found more and more evidence that this was someone other than their pug-nosed classmate. There was no way that Pansy would've helped Riley, and there was no way that she would've been nice to those First Years. When Harry had seen the way the girl had stood in front of the others the night of the attack, as if to defend the kids from whatever came through the front door, and he'd known,  _he'd known_ , that this girl couldn't be Pansy. But who was she? And then there was the fact that sometimes, when they were close, he saw things that went too quickly for him to actually  _see_  them. And then there were other times in which they'd stalk this Pansy-imposter and he and her would get nose bleeds  _at the same time_.

They were connected, and while Harry didn't want to admit it, that both terrified and fascinated him.

They'd continued stalking her with use of his invisibility cloak. They'd wanted to catch this imposter doing something heinous, something terrible, something  _at least_ a slightly bit questionable, but they hadn't. It'd confused them at first, and then intrigued them later. They knew that she had to be some sort of Death Eater, but if so then what exactly was she doing in Hogwarts going to school and cozying up to Malfoy (who apparently was with "Parkinson" in a revenge plot due to some past scuffle they'd had)? She wasn't reporting back to anyone (unless she was reporting to Snape during her detention). She wasn't snooping around trying to find Hogwarts' weaknesses (and they'd followed her around every free moment that they weren't in class so they knew this was a fact). They didn't think they'd actually seen her lift a wand her entire time there.

Not only that, but they'd seen the way the girl acted when she thought others weren't looking. She smiled. She was friendly. She'd become friends of sorts with the First Year Gryffindors, and her favorite was visibly muggleborn Riley. And those three boys liked her. They'd trusted her enough to let her put a hex on them without doubting that it wouldn't be painless as she'd promised. The kids had gone along with the plan, and the Trio had watched as later she brought chocolates to reward them with. She'd then tried to warn the boys against getting into trouble with the Slytherins, who wouldn't hesitate to actually hurt them and not just  _pretend to_  like she had.

"What does this mean?" Hermione nibbled on her bottom lip.

"It means you two gave away the fact that you knew she wasn't Lavender." Ron rolled his eyes at them. "Just what the hell were you two thinking off charging in like that?"

"We were thinking about protecting  _you_." Hermione glared at him. "We thought she'd isolated you to hurt you!"

"Well, she hadn't!" Ron glared back at her. "And if you hadn't messed things up I might've been able to get some information out of her! But now she's gone and we might never know why she, or the other one, were here in the first place!"

"See if I ever try to save you again," Hermione uttered a completely useless threat.

When Hermione and Harry had consulted the Marauder's Map and he'd seen a very faint and barely noticeable mark alone with Ron (he'd actually gotten a nosebleed and piercing headache in his effort to track her) they'd thought that this was it, that she was finally making her move and attacking their friend, but they'd come upon a different scene all-together.

Ron, who'd known it was her from something she'd said, had admitted to being very weary at first (and keeping his wand at the ready) but that she'd merely talked to him. He'd been waiting for a hex, for her to offer him something with a potion in it, or in the least for her to try and get information about Harry from him. But the conversation had had a 'distinct lack of Harry Potter', and those had been Ron's words.

The whole situation had left the Golden Trio confused and Harry growing more and more suspicious.

"She obviously was terrified of you, Harry." Ron turned his browns on him. "I mean, sure, Hermione cut an intimidating picture with her wand out and all that, but the one she couldn't keep her wide-eyes off of was  _you_."

"Definitely has to be a Death Eater then, right?" And yet Hermione didn't sound so sure.

"I bet you Dumbledore knows." Ron made a face. "But he's keeping it all secret. I mean, he knows about that slimy Snape and yet he didn't do anything about that! Why not? What isn't he telling us?"

Harry nodded his agreement as he sighed. "And, of course, there's the question of  _why_  isn't he telling us."

Snape was obviously helping these imposters, and Dumbledore obviously knew. But despite it all, the Headmaster was keeping things from Harry, and he couldn't understand why. Hadn't he always done all that was needed from him? Hadn't he proven himself? Then why didn't the Headmaster trust him with the truth about what was going on? About who had infiltrated Hogwarts?

And what connection did she have to Harry? He knew there had to be one. That was the only explanation he had for his headaches, for his nosebleeds, for the images he couldn't make out in his mind… for the fact that he was the only one able to make out her mark on the Marauders Map. He hadn't been able to make out Bulstrode's mark, but (no matter how vague and painful it was to find) he'd been able to locate the mark of Pansy's (and then Lavender's) imposter. Why?  _Why_?

Who the hell had that girl been, and just what the hell had she been doing in Hogwarts?

Staring at the map, a muscle ticking in his cheek, Harry Potter vowed to himself that he'd do all in his power to find out the answers - whether Dumbledore wanted him to or not.


End file.
